Kotak Mahindra Bank announces appointment of new senior executives

Kotak Mahindra Bank on Monday said that it has appointed KVS Manian as Joint Managing Director and Shanti Ekambaram as Deputy Managing Director, effective March 1, 2024.

Both Manian and Ekambaram bring to the table over two decades of invaluable experience within Kotak Mahindra Bank, previously serving as Whole-Time Directors. In their new roles, Manian will assume oversight of the wholesale banking, commercial banking, private banking, asset reconstruction division, and wholesale credit. On the other hand, Ekambaram will take charge of driving treasury and global markets businesses, in addition to her existing responsibilities.

The bank's decision to elevate Manian and Ekambaram comes amid speculation within in media regarding Manian's potential candidacy for the CEO position at Federal Bank. Despite being short-listed for the role, Kotak Mahindra Bank ultimately appointed veteran banker Ashok Vaswani as the new CEO, succeeding billionaire Uday Kotak, who resigned as Managing Director and CEO four months ahead of schedule in September.

Furthermore, Kotak Mahindra Bank disclosed the appointment of Devang Gheewalla as President and Group Chief Financial Officer, effective April 1, further reinforcing the bank's leadership bench.

Despite these strategic appointments, Kotak Mahindra Bank's shares closed marginally lower at Rs 1,731.40 on Monday. In 2023, the bank's shares witnessed a modest rise of 4.4 per cent, which lagged behind the Nifty Bank index's gain of 12.4 per cent.

(With Reuters inputs)