After completing her Bacheloras Degree in Arts, she pursued her Masters Degree in Management Studies at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS). Post her MBA in finance she joined the erstwhile industrial finance company ICICI in 1984 as a management trainee – Project Appraisal & Monitoring and worked on projects in a wide gamut of industries. In 1993 she was deputed to ICICI bank as a part of the core team to set up operations and pave the way for its entry into the commercial banking business. By 1997 she was heading the large corporate clients group and in 2001, she went on to head the retail vertical too. She became a part of the top management at ICICI when she was promoted to the post of CFO in 2006 and finally made the Joint MD in 2007.

Her appointment comes at a time when the world is reeling under a financial crisis and India and its financial institutions are not fully decoupled from it. ICICI is going through a transitional phase itself as it faces the changing financial environment. Ms Kochhar joins a list of alumni from JBIMS like Mr Harish Manwani, Mr Nitin Paranjpe, Mr Ajay Piramal, Mr Uday Kotak, Ms Vinita Bali and others.