Uday Kotak has resigned as CEO and MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank. He will, however, continue as a non-executive director of the bank, the Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a communication to exchanges on September 2. Kotak has been leading the bank since its inception in 1985.
Uday Kotak is India's richest banker with a real-time net worth of Rs 1,10,020 crore as of September 2, 2023, according to Forbes' world billionaire list. He is stepping down to facilitate the succession plan at the bank. He grabbed attention when he opted to forego his fixed salary and accepted a token salary of Rs 1 for the financial year 2022-23.
He started a finance firm called Kotak Capital Management Finance Ltd in 1985. He then converted it into a bank in 2003. His son Jay Kotak has been working with the bank since 2017. He is a Harvard Business School graduate. The bank was initially backed by tractor tycoon Anand Mahindra, who still holds a small stake in the bank.
The 64-year-old is married to Pallavi Kotak. The duo has two children and lives in Mumbai. Uday belongs to a Gujarati Hindu family. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and an MMS degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. He has over 35 years of experience in the banking and financial sector.
Apart from his business Uday Kotak has expressed his love of cricket many times. If not a businessman, Kotak said, he would have been a cricketer. When he was younger, he played the sitar and cricket. He is also a very good mathematician.
He leads several key bodies and is currently Co-Chairperson of the Indo-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP). He was the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) until May 2021. From October 2018 to April 2022, Kotak served as Non-Executive Chairperson of a special IL & FS Board constituted by the Government of India to steer the NBFC out of a deep crisis.
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