The man who was instrumental in bringing about a turnaround for the Axis Bank is on his way out - that too three months before his tenure officially comes to an end!

And the man is none other than Axis Bank's illustrious Chairman and CEO - Pangal Jayendra Nayak!

Nayak resigned on Monday, after giving up in losing battle - he was in favor of an "insider" for the post of the new Managing Director and CEO of the bank, while the board preferred to appoint an "outsider." While Nayak was backing Hemant Kaul, the head of the bank's retail operations; the board decision went in favor of Shikha Sharma, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co Ltd.

By far, Nayak's career is enviable for reasons more than one! Ever since he, an ex-bureaucrat, took hold of the reins of Axis Bank in 2000, he metamorphosed the supposedly quasi-government bank into the third-largest lender among private banks. Currently, the size of the Axis Bank balance sheet is Rs 1,47,722 crore, and its net profit in 2009 fiscal increased by 60 percent. The bank has quite low NPAs, and high margins.

Nonetheless, Nayak's one conspicuous weakness - his rigidity - which was evident-from-the-start and clearly continued till he quit, might just stand in the way of all the glory he deserves for his monumental achievements!