Kotak Mahindra Bank to appoint Ashok Vaswani as new MD & CEO

Ashok Vaswani has over three decades of experience in the banking sector, initially at Citigroup and more recently, at Barclays.

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Kotak Mahindra Bank on October 21 said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Ashok Vaswani as the bank’s next Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) following veteran banker and founder Uday Kotak's resignation from the post last month after being associated with the bank for 21 years.

Vaswani's appointment is for a period of three years from date of taking charge which shall not be later than January 1, 2024, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a regulatory filing. The appointment is subject to shareholders’ approval, the private lender added.

The international banker has over three decades of experience in the banking sector, initially at Citigroup and more recently, at Barclays as the Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Bank, UK, and subsequently CEO of their global consumer, private, corporate and payments businesses.

Currently, he is President of Pagaya Technologies Ltd - a US-Israeli AI Fintech. Ashok is also on the Board of the London Stock Exchange Group, the SP Jain Institute of Global Management, UK and supports various philanthropic organisations, including Pratham, and Lend-AHand.

Commenting on the new appointment, Uday Kotak, Founder and Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “Ashok is a word class leader and banker with digital and customer focus. I am proud that we bring a “Global Indian” home to build Kotak and India of tomorrow.”

Vaswani, expressed, "With our proven leadership team we will take the bank to new heights. We will ensure that Kotak Mahindra Bank plays a meaningful role in India’s journey to being one of the top 3 economies in the world in the next 5 years, delivering shareholder value. At a personal level, l am delighted to come back home.”

Vaswani is a Bachelor of Commerce, Economics and Accountancy, from the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics (Bombay University), CA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, CS from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and Executive Education from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

This came as the RBI capped the tenure of a managing director and chief executive officer at 15 years in private sector banks. This is due to the RBI's norms on leadership appointment which was reviewed after the Yes Bank debacle. Kotak, whose holding in the bank stands at 26 percent, has become a non-executive director of the bank.

Uday Kotak had stepped down as the Kotak Mahindra Bank managing director and chief executive officer with effect from September 1. He is, however, continuing as a non-executive director of the bank. Uday Kotak’s tenure as the chief executive officer and managing director of the bank ends on December 31, 2023.

At that time, Kotak had said he is stepping down to facilitate the succession plan at the bank.

"Succession at Kotak Mahindra Bank has been foremost on my mind, since our Chairman, myself and Joint MD are all required to step down by year end. I am keen to ensure smooth transition by sequencing these departures. I initiate this process now and step down voluntarily as CEO," Kotak had said.

The RBI approval for Vaswani comes after Kotak Mahindra Bank earlier today reported a 24 percent rise in its standalone net profit to Rs 3,191 crore for the quarter ended September 30, mainly on the back of improvement in the core income and lower bad loans.

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank closed nearly 2 percent higher at Rs 1,769.55 apiece on BSE on October 21.