Arundhati Bhattacharya, the youngest Managing Director and CFO who had put in more than three decades in State Bank of India, was on Monday appointed its Chairperson, creating history by becoming the first woman to head the country’s largest lender.

Bhattacharya, 57, succeeds Pratip Chaudhuri, who retired on September 30, and joins a select league of women bankers that include Chanda Kochhar of ICICI Bank, Naina Lal Kidwai of HSBC India and Shikha Sharma of Axis Bank.

She will have Allahabad Bank’s Shubhalakshmi Panse and Bank of India’s VR Iyer as compatriots at public sector banks.

The government announced the appointment of Bhattacharya, who has had a varied experience in SBI in different departments, for a period of three years.

This is the first time that an SBI head will get a three-year tenure, irrespective of when the person will retire.

An SBI statement said Bhattacharya assumed charge as Chairperson today. Bhattacharya, who pipped SBI Managing Directors Hemant G Contractor, A Krishna Kumar and S Vishvanathan to the top post, joined the bank in 1977 as a probationary officer.

She has served in various positions, including as head of SBI Capital Markets Ltd, the investment banking unit.

Prior to this, she served as a deputy managing director and corporate development officer at SBI.

She has undertaken various assignments spanning credit, foreign exchange, treasury and retail operations.

Besides, Bhattacharya had a brief stint at SBI’s office in New York.