Who is Ashok Vaswani, new Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO? 5 things to know about him
Kotak Mahindra Bank on Saturday announced that Ashok Vaswani will succeed founder Uday Kotak as the chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of the private lender.
The bank’s interim CEO and MD Dipak Gupta was quoted by PTI as saying that Vaswani’s name recommended by the board and the Reserve Bank of India approved it.
“I thank the board for entrusting me with the responsibility of leading Kotak Mahindra Bank’s journey to the next phase of growth. I am excited and honoured to carry forward the legacy of Uday who has built this world-class institution,” Vaswani was quoted as saying.
According to reports, KVS Manian and Shanti Ekambaram were the front runners for the top job. Uday Kotak is now continuing as a non-excutive director of the bank.
“Ashok is a world-class leader and banker with digital and customer focus. I am proud that we bring a ‘Global Indian’ home to build Kotak,” Uday Kotak said in a statement.
Here are five things to know about Ashok Vaswani, who will now helm the Kotak Mahindra Bank for a period of three years.
1. Ashok Vaswani is currently the president of US-Israel fintech firm Pagaya Technologies. He has had a long career with global lenders including Citigroup and Barclays.
2. An alumnus of Mumbai’s Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, Vaswani is a qualified chartered accountant and company secretary.
3. Vaswani served as the CEO of Barclays Bank, UK and subsequently the CEO of lender’s global consumer, private, corporate and payments businesses and also a member of its group executive committee. He also served as the CEO of Citigroup Asia Pacific and a member of the Citigroup global operating and management committees.
4. Vaswani is also a member of the Board of the London Stock Exchange Group, the SP Jain Institute of Global Management, UK.
5. Ashok Vaswani is also a part of philanthropic organisations, including Pratham, and Lend-A-Hand.
