On November 21, Mumbai-based RBL bank announced chess whiz D. Gukesh as its brand ambassador. Twenty-two days later, the 18-year-old bested China's Ding Liren to become the youngest world chess champion. That is some return on investment!
While the details of the contract between the bank and Gukesh were not available, the bank’s managing director and CEO R. Subramaniakumar said this to the media while announcing the partnership: “Partnering with Gukesh is a perfect strategic alignment for us, as his exceptional ability to think several moves ahead mirrors our approach to thoughtful financial planning. His journey from a prodigy to a grandmaster reflects the kind of strategic excellence we aim to bring to our customers' financial lives.”
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Gukesh responded that the bank’s “commitment to building customer wealth with stability through innovative solutions shows the same level of strategic thinking that chess demands”.
D Gukesh's jacket sponsors
As Team India had won last month at the iconic WACA venue in Perth, the 'WACA' on Gukesh’s blue blazer triggered some online searches by the uninitiated. The 'WACA' on the world champion’s blazer is the WestBridge-Anand Chess Academy, which is quite well-known to chess fans. The academy was born out of a chat between former world champion Viswanathan Anand and Sandeep Singhal, managing partner of WestBridge Capital.
The company’s statement on LinkedIn says this: “WestBridge Capital is an experienced investment firm focusing primarily on investments in India. WestBridge seeks to partner with some of India's most promising mid-sized companies run by outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams for the long-term... A typical investment ranges from US$25 million to US$200 million, often resulting in a substantial minority equity ownership, second only to the founder in many cases.”
FULL REPORT | Indian teen Gukesh becomes youngest world chess champion
WACA’s founding mentor team “includes GM Sandipan Chanda, GM Artur Yusupov, GM Grzegorz Gajewski and Boris Gelfand”. Of these mentors, Chanda, Yusupov and Gajewski have been Anand’s seconds. Gajewski is Gukesh’s trainer, too.
In addition to the support through WACA, WestBridge is offering additional support to Gukesh for five years. Hence, the firm’s logo on his sleeves and left jacket panel. In chess, other than travel, major expenses include payments to seconds and the cost of buying software and systems.
