Documents/Reports Review and Financial Reporting Process
Review and update this Charter, considering regulatory requirements, business environment, etc. and place it before the Board of Directors of the Bank for its approval. The frequency of review shall be atleast once every three years.
Oversight of the Bank’s financial reporting process and the disclosure of its financial information to ensure the fair presentation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in India, applicable regulatory requirements and provisions of Companies Act, 2013.
Review the organization’s annual financial statements and any reports or other financial information submitted to any regulatory body, or the public, including any certification, report, opinion, or review rendered by the independent auditors or firm of accountants.
Review, with the management, the annual financial statements and auditor’s report thereon before submission to the board for approval, with particular reference to:
Matters required to be included in the Director’s Responsibility Statement to be included in the Board’s report in terms of clause (c) of sub-section 3 of section 134 of the Companies Act, 2013.
Changes, if any, in accounting policies and practices and reasons for the same
Compliance with accounting standards, selection of accounting policies, significant judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts in financial statements.
Significant adjustments made in the financial statements arising out of audit findings
Compliance with regulatory guidelines, Securities and Exchange Board of India and other legal requirements relating to financial statements
Disclosure of any related party transactions
Approve or ratify transactions of the Bank with related parties and review significant transactions and matters related thereto. Grant of omnibus approval for related party transactions proposed to be entered into by the Bank subject to such conditions as prescribed and as amended from time to time. Related Parties to have the same meaning as provided in Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (as amended from time to time).
Modified opinion(s) in the draft audit report
Going concern assumption
Management discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations.
Review, with the management, the quarterly financial statements / results before submission to the Board for approval.
Reviewing, with management, the statement of uses / application of funds, wherever necessary, raised through an issue (public issue, right issue, preferential issue etc.), the statement of funds utilized for purposes other than those stated in the offer document / prospectus / notice and the report submitted by the monitoring agency monitoring the utilization of proceeds of a public of right issue, and making appropriate recommendations to the Board to take up steps in this matter wherever necessary.
Review compliance with the provisions of the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 (as amended from time to time) at least once in a financial year and verify that the systems for internal control pertaining to the same are adequate and are operating effectively. (amendment effective from 1st April 2019)
Valuation of undertakings or assets of the Bank, wherever it is necessary;
Review evaluation of internal financial controls and risk management systems.
Look into the reasons for substantial defaults in the payment to the depositors, debenture holders, shareholders (in case of non payment of dividend declared) and creditors.
Approval of appointment of CFO after assessing the qualifications, experience and background, etc. of the candidate;
Review reasons for revenue leakage and approve corrective action plan and monitor them at regular interval. Monitor areas of repeat occurrences, if any and ensure immediate actions are taken to prevent such repeat occurrences of revenue leakage.
Review the financial statements of unlisted subsidiary company/ies and more particularly the investments made by them.
Review the key audit observations pertaining to the subsidiaries presented to the respective ACB / Board, as the case may be.
Reviewing the utilization of loans and / or advances from / investment by the Bank in the subsidiary exceeding Rs.100 crore or 10% of the asset size of the subsidiary, whichever is lower including existing loans / advances / investments.
Review details presented to the Committee, at prescribed frequency, vide RBI circular dated 10 November 2010 and as updated from time to time.
Discuss with independent statutory auditors significant issues raised in the Long Form Audit Report and follow up there on.
Independent Statutory Auditors
Recommend to the Board of Directors the appointment, re-appointment, replacement and removal of the independent statutory auditors for both domestic and overseas operations, considering independence and effectiveness, terms of appointment, the fees and other compensation to be paid to the independent statutory auditors.
Approval of payment to statutory auditors for any other services rendered by the statutory auditors.
Approve all payments for services rendered to the statutory auditors other than as statutory auditors.
Review and monitor, auditors’ independence performance and effectiveness of audit process.
Periodically consult with the independent statutory auditors in the absence of management about internal controls and fair presentation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in India, applicable regulatory requirements.
Discuss with the independent statutory auditors before commencement of the audit the nature and scope of the audit.
Discuss and ascertain from the independent statutory auditors post the completion of the audit, areas of concern, if any.
Review management letters / letters of internal control weaknesses issued by the statutory auditors.
Provide a right to be heard to the independent statutory auditors and the key management personnel in the meetings of the Audit Committee.
Internal Audit Department
Approve appointment, re-appointment, replacement and removal of the concurrent auditors and outsourced internal auditors and the fees and other compensation to be paid to them.
Review with management, performance of internal auditors and adequacy of the internal control systems.
Review the adequacy of internal audit function, if any, including the structure of the internal audit department, staffing and seniority of the official heading the department, reporting structure, coverage and frequency of internal audit including Information Systems Audit.
Discuss with internal auditors any significant findings and follow up there on.
Review the internal audit reports relating to internal control weaknesses.
Review the findings of any internal investigations by the internal auditors / vigilance department into matters where there is suspected fraud or irregularity or a failure of internal control systems of a material nature and report the matter to the Board of Directors.
Approve, review and monitor the Risk Based Internal Audit Plan each year.
Review appointment, removal, and performance of Head – Internal Audit and detailed organisation structure.
Whistleblowing/ Vigil mechanism
The Committee shall review the Bank’s mechanism for its directors, employees and vendors to raise genuine concerns; whether it provides adequate safeguards against victimization of persons who use such mechanism and provides for direct access to the Chairman of the Audit Committee in appropriate or exceptional cases.
Review Statement of deviations, if any:
quarterly statement of deviation(s) including report of monitoring agency, if applicable, submitted to stock exchange(s) in terms of Regulation 32 (1) of SEBI LODR.
annual statement of funds utilized for purposes other than those stated in the offer document/prospectus/notice in terms of Regulation 32(7) of SEBI LODR.
Inspections conducted by regulators
Read the audit inspection reports of the inspection team of Reserve Bank of India or any other regulator, approve action plans for corrective actions to be taken and monitor compliance thereof.
Risk Management
Review the implementation and effectiveness of the financial and Risk Management policies and process and highlight any gaps observed to the Board of Directors.
Process Improvement
Establish a process of reporting by the Management or Independent Statutory Auditor, as the case may be, to the Audit Committee with regard to any significant judgment made in preparation of the Financial Statements along with their views on appropriateness of such judgments.
Following completion of the annual audit and internal audit plan, review separately with each of management, the independent statutory auditors and the internal auditing department any significant difficulties encountered during the course of the audit, including any restrictions on the scope of work or access to required information.
Review any significant disagreement among management and the independent statutory auditors in connection with the preparation of the financial statements.
Review any significant disagreement among management and the internal audit department in connection with the observations made in the internal audit report.
Review with Management the extent to which changes or improvements in financial or accounting practices, as approved by the Audit Committee, have been implemented.
Perform any other activities consistent with this Charter and governing law, as the Committee or the Board deems necessary or appropriate
Stakeholders Relationship Committee
Chairperson: Mr. C S Rajan
Member:
Ms. Ashu Suyash
Mr. Ashok Vaswani
Ms. Shanti Ekambaram
Mr. Amit Desai
The Stakeholders Relationship Committee of the Bank reviews the complaints received from the shareholders and ensures redressal thereof.
To resolve grievances of security holders.
To review measures for effective exercise of voting rights by shareholders.
To review adherence to service standards adopted by listed entity for services rendered by Registrar & Transfer Agent.
To review measures and initiatives taken for reducing quantum of unclaimed dividend and ensuring timely receipt of dividend / annual report / statutory notices.
Identify persons who are qualified to become directors and who may be appointed in senior management in accordance with the criteria laid down, recommend to the Board their appointment and removal and specify the manner for effective evaluation of performance of Board, its committees and individual directors to be carried out either by the Board, by the Nomination and Remuneration Committee or by an independent external agency and review its implementation and compliance.
Formulate the criteria for determining qualifications, positive attributes and independence of a director and recommend to the Board a policy relating to the remuneration for the directors, key managerial personnel and other employees.
While formulating the policy ensure that—
the level and composition of remuneration is reasonable and sufficient to attract, retain and motivate directors of the quality required to run the company successfully;
relationship of remuneration to performance is clear and meets appropriate performance benchmarks; and
remuneration to directors, key managerial personnel and senior management involves a balance between fixed and incentive pay reflecting short and long-term performance objectives appropriate to the working of the company and its goals.
To recommend to the Board remuneration (in whatever form payable) to senior management.
Large Expenditure and Share Transfer and Other Matters Committee
Chairperson:
Mr. C S Rajan
Members:
Mr. Uday Kotak
Mr. Ashok Vaswani
Ms. Shanti Ekambaram
Large Expenditure and Share Transfer and Other Matters Committee
To approve transfer, transmission, transposition, name deletion, consolidation and splitting of share and debenture certificates of the Company.
To issue duplicate share/debenture certificates.
To apply for registration of the Company with various authorities of any state or Centre including GST tax authorities, income tax authorities, shops & establishment authorities, and to do or perform all matters relating to such matters.
To apply, in the name of and for the Company for telephone, telex, fax and other telecommunication and electrical/electronic connections and to do all matters relating to such applications.
To open, operate and close Bank Accounts of the Company and change the operating instructions of existing Bank Accounts of the Company.
To authorise persons to sign on behalf of the Company Share Certificates, Share Allotment Letters, Fixed Deposit Receipts.
To authorise persons to represent the Company at General Meetings of any company or cooperative society of which the Company is a shareholder/member.
To fix the dates for Closure of the Company’s Register of Members and Debenture holders and Transfer Books of Shares or Debentures and/or fixing Record Dates, in consultation with the Stock Exchanges.
To authorise the opening of Securities General Ledger Account or any other account with any scheduled banks or with any department of the Reserve Bank of India.
To authorise persons to execute Loan Agreements, Demand Promissory Notes and any other documents as may be necessary for lending out of any line of credit sanctioned to the Company.
To authorise officials of the Company to sign documents for registration of motor vehicles and to do all acts and things for the transfer of any such motor vehicles.
To authorise employee(s) or others to execute, for and on behalf of the Company, agreements, applications, deeds, documents and any other writings in connection with the business of the Company and, if required, to issue Power of Attorney in favour of such persons for the purpose.
To authorise employee(s) or others to represent the Company before any Court, Tribunal, Consumer Redressal Forum or any Statutory or other Authority on any matter relating to the operations of the Company or with which the Company is in any way connected or to represent the Company generally or for any specific purpose or purposes and, if required, issue Power of Attorney in favour of such persons for the purpose.
To appoint or change nominees to hold shares for and on behalf of the Company in any subsidiary/associate companies.
To grant permission and authorise incorporation of companies, with a prefix “Kotak Mahindra” before the name.
To authorise the use of the Common Seal of the Company and to appoint persons to sign/countersign documents, etc. on which the Common Seal is to be affixed
To approve appointment of any employee /Director of the Bank or any other person as a nominee on the Board of other companies under certain circumstances to protect the interest of the Bank’s exposures / investments in such companies;
To approve appointment of any employee of the Bank as a part-time employee of any other company under certain circumstances to protect the interest of the Bank’s exposures / investments in such companies; and
To approve appointment of any employee /Director of the Bank or any other person as an appointee on the Board of other companies (including Section 8 companies) LLPs, firms, if so invited.
To carry out the following activities in respect of equity shares of erstwhile ING Vysya Bank Ltd. being rights shares held in abeyance for various reasons :
Allotment of shares in respect of rights shares held in abeyance and bonus entitlement thereon, after the resolution of the Court case, transmission, dispute etc. as the case may be and upon receipt of application money and other necessary documents.
Authorize officials of the Bank to take necessary action for credit of shares to the demat account of the concerned shareholder(s) or issue of physical share certificates as the case may be.
Authorize officials of the Bank to make the necessary applications to the Stock Exchanges for listing and trading of the shares so allotted, file the various regulatory returns and refund the excess share application money received, if any.
To authorise employee(s) to delegate authority to any other employee(s) or others in respect of any of the matters stated herein subject to it being permissible under applicable law.”
To, inter alia, finalise the structure and terms and conditions of the Non-Convertible Debentures, within the approval granted by the Board from time to time.
To approve expenses as mentioned in the Expense Approval Authorities, as approved by the Board from time to time.
Special Committee of the Board for monitoring and follow-up of Frauds
Chairperson:
Mr. C S Rajan
Member:
Ms. Ketaki Bhagwati
Mr. Ashok Vaswani
Ms. Shanti Ekambaram
Special Committee of the Board for monitoring and follow-up of Frauds
Pursuant to the directives of the Reserve Bank of India, the Bank has constituted a Committee on Frauds for monitoring and reviewing all the frauds involving amounts of Rs. 1 crore and above.
The Bank has, pursuant to the directives issued by the Reserve Bank of India, constituted a Customer Services Committee. The Committee has been constituted to bring about ongoing improvements in the quality of customer services provided by the Bank. The Committee would also oversee the functioning of the Customer Service Standing Committee, compliance with the recommendations of the Committee on Procedures and Performance Audit and Public Services (CPPAPS) and also mount innovative measures for enhancing the quality of customer service and improving the level of customer satisfaction for all categories of cliental, at all times.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental, Social and Governance Committee
Chairperson: Mr. C S Rajan
Members: Dr. Ashok Gulati
Mr. Ashok Vaswani
Ms. Shanti Ekambaram
Mr. Amit Desai
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental, Social and Governance Committee
Formulate and recommend to the Board, a Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) Policy which shall indicate the activities to be undertaken by the Bank, as laid down in Schedule VII to the Companies Act, 2013 (“Act”) and Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility) Rules 2014 as amended from time to time (“CSR Rules”) and notifications/ circulars issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, from time-to-time;
Review and recommend Bank’s CSR Project, Budget, Expenditure, Design and Annual Action Plan to the Board;
Review and monitor implementation of CSR Projects, CSR Project Budget, CSR Project Expenditure to be in line with the scope of the Act and CSR Rules, Bank’s CSR Policy, Design, Annual Action Plan and to also update the Board on the progress and fund utilisation of each CSR Project; and
Oversee development of the Group’s ESG framework, initiatives taken on the same and reporting and disclosure of the Group’s ESG activities and progress.
Risk Management Committee
Chairperson: Dr. Ashok Gulati
Members:
Mr. Uday Kotak
Mr. Eli Leenaars
Ms. Ashu Suyash
Mr. C S Rajan
The terms of reference of the Committee includes to identify, monitor and measure the risk profile of the Bank; develop policies and procedures; verify models that are used for preparing complex products; review models as development takes place in the markets and also identify new risks; monitor compliance of various risk parameters by operating departments; design stress scenarios to measure the impact of unusual market conditions and monitor variance between actual volatility of portfolio value and that predicted by risk measures; and ensure that the Bank’s credit exposure to any one group or industry does not exceed the internally set limits and that the risk is prudently diversified; and to specifically include cyber security.
Review Committee for classification and declaration of borrowers as Willful defaulters
Review Committee for classification and declaration of borrowers as Willful defaulters
To review the order passed by the Identification Committee (1st Level Committee) after considering the written representation, if any forwarded by the Borrower(s) and pass necessary orders upholding / rejecting the order passed by the Identification Committee (1st Level Committee).
To bring operational flexibility in processing of credit proposals and also to discharge other responsibilities prescribed in different RBI directives including periodical calendar of reviews.
Group Risk Management Committee
Chairperson:
Mr. Eli Leenaars
Member:
Dr. Ashok Gulati
Ms. Ashu Suyash
Mr. Jaideep Hansraj
1) Issues relating to the Group from risk perspective.
2) Group risk appetite.
3) Analyse the material risks to which the Group, its businesses and subsidiaries would be exposed. It would discuss all risk strategies, both at an aggregated level and by type of risk and make recommendations to the Board in accordance with the Group’s overall risk appetite.
4) Identify potential intra-group conflicts of interest.
5) Assess whether there were effective systems in place to facilitate exchange of information for effective risk oversight of the Group.
6) Carry out periodic independent formal review of the Group structure and internal controls.
7) Articulate the leverage of the Group and monitor the same.
IT Strategy & Digital Payments Promotion Committee (Board Sub – Committee with effect from April 1, 2024)
IT Strategy & Digital Payments Promotion Committee has been constituted to ensure effective IT Governance and promotion of digital payments, in line with the relevant guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India (including the extant Master Direction on Information Technology Governance, Risk, Controls and Assurance Practices dated November 7, 2023)
Mr. Cornelis Petrus Adrianus Joseph Leenaars (Mr. Eli Leenaars), Independent Director
Mr. Eli Leenaars has over 35 years of experience in the financial services sector, covering institutional & investment banking, asset management, corporate & retail banking and life & general insurance. With a track-record in digital banking, Mr. Leenaars has experience in managing businesses through a wide range of matters including mergers & acquisitions, complex corporate restructurings, strategic initiatives and challenging financial environments.
Mr. Leenaars enjoyed a 24-year career (since 1991) at ING Group N.V., a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company and its various subsidiaries. He held numerous key management positions in Central & Eastern Europe, The United States of America, Latin America and Asia. Between 2004 and 2015, Mr. Leenaars was a member of ING’s Executive Board with responsibility for ING’s Global Retail & Private Banking operations and Group Technology and Operations. This also included him serving from 2010 until 2015 as CEO of ING Direct N.V., at the time the world’s largest digital bank.
From April 2015 to May 2021, Mr. Leenaars served as Group Managing Director at UBS Group AG, a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company and as Vice-Chairman of the Global Wealth Management Division, based in Zurich.
Mr. Leenaars has served as a Partner & Group Chief Operating Officer of Quintet Private Bank, a medium-sized Luxembourg-headquartered bank and wealth manager with operations in six European countries, from June 2021 to April 2024, based in Luxembourg.
Since 2009, Mr. Leenaars is a member of the European and the Global Executive Committee of the Trilateral Commission (Paris, Tokyo and Washington, DC) and was its Treasurer, between 2009 to 2022. Since 2009, he has held a number of supervisory roles for the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Between 2013 and 2015, he was Member of the Board and Treasurer of the Carnegie Foundation in The Hague by Royal Decree.
Mr. Leenaars has completed LL.M. from the Catholic University Nijmegen, Netherlands and the European University Institute, Florence, Italy and attended the Program for Management Development (PMD) at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA
Mr. Leenaars is a Board Member of Capital One Financial Corporation, a major US bank, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, USA, with operations primarily in the USA.
Mr. Uday Kotak, Non-Executive Director
Mr. Uday Kotak is the Founder and Director of the Bank. He has played an important role in the growth of the Kotak Mahindra group over the past 38 years. He was the Managing Director & CEO of the Bank till 1st September, 2023, prior to becoming a Non-Executive Non-Independent Director, with effect from 2nd September, 2023. Under his leadership, the Kotak Mahindra group has emerged as one of India’s leading diversified and integrated financial services conglomerates, providing a range of financial solutions covering banking, asset management, alternate asset management, life and general insurance stock broking, investment banking, private banking, microfinance and asset reconstruction.
He has played an important role in defining and developing India’s banking and financial sector over three decades. Mr. Kotak leads several key bodies and is currently Co-Chairman of the Indo-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP). He was on the International Advisory Panel of Monetary Authority of Singapore until December 2023 and was President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) from June 2020 until May 2021. Mr. Kotak was on the International Advisory Board of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. From October 2018 to April 2022, he served as the Non-Executive Chairman of a specially constituted board of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (“IL&FS”) (a state-funded non-banking financial company) by the Government of India to steer IL&FS out of a deep crisis, which he served as his national duty. In 2017, a Committee on Corporate Governance constituted by SEBI under the leadership of Mr. Kotak recommended sweeping changes towards more robust and transparent corporate governance.
Mr. Kotak was recently honoured with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the Mint India Investment Summit 2025 and the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by CNBC-TV18 at the India Business Leader Awards 2023. In the past, he has been a recipient of the ‘Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ in 2014, ‘Economic Times Business Leader of the Year Award’ in 2015, ‘Businessman of the Year 2016’ by Business India, ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at Financial Express’ Best Banks’ Awards 2016, ‘USIBC Global Leadership Award’ at the 2018 India Ideas Summit organised by the U.S.-India Business Council, ‘Life Time Achievement Award’ at Magna Awards 2019 by Businessworld, ‘Best CEO in Banking Sector’ by the Business Today Best CEO Awards 2019 and ‘India Business Leader of the Year’ by CNBC-TV18 at the India Business Leader Awards 2021.
Mr. Kotak holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Mumbai University and a Master’s degree in Management Studies from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.
Mr. Kotak is also the Non-Executive Chairman on the Boards of Kotak Mahindra Prime Limited, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company Limited, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited and Kotak Mahindra Investments Limited, wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Bank. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of The Mahindra United World College of India and The Anglo Scottish Education Society (Section 8 companies).
Mr. Ashok Vaswani, Managing Director & CEO
Mr. Ashok Vaswani has a proven track record spanning three and half decades, initially at Citigroup and, thereafter, at Barclays, of building and growing global businesses at scale, nurturing winning teams, establishing transformational partnerships, leveraging forward leaning technology, with a compelling business vision to deliver strong bottom-line growth. Mr. Vaswani is widely known as the person who led the transformation of Barclays from the analog age to the digital age. This involved a complete technology architecture redesign, hollowing out of the proprietary core banking platform to deliver a high level of resilience, redesign, digitalisation of customer journeys and data lead operations.
He brings with him significant executional experience with high degree of compliance and industrial strength across financial services.
Mr. Vaswani was Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Bank, UK and subsequently CEO of their Global Consumer, Private, Corporate and Payments businesses and Member of the Group Executive Committee. Earlier, he was CEO of Citigroup Asia Pacific and Member of the Citigroup Global Operating & Management Committees. Mr. Vaswani also built and ran various country and regional businesses across geographies. He also held the position as President of Pagaya Technologies Limited, a US-Israeli AI Fintech based out of New York. In his last role as President of Pagaya, Mr. Vaswani led the efforts to scale up the company through institutional selling and technology connectivity with very low latency and high degree of resilience.
Mr. Vaswani supports various philanthropic organisations, including Pratham and Lend-A-Hand.
He was on the board of several prestigious institutions such as, London Stock Exchange Group, The Forward Institute (UK), Telenor, SP Jain Institute of Global Management (UK), VISA Asia Pacific and VISA (UK), Entercard (Chairman), UK Finance Limited and Barclays Africa Group Limited (including as a member of its Audit and Technology Committee). He was also the Chairman of Retail Committee of British Bankers Association and a Trustee of Citizens Advice Bureau.
Mr. Vaswani is a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics and Accountancy) from the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai, Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Company Secretary from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and has also received Executive Education from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Mr. Vaswani is also a Director (Non-Executive) on the Board of Kotak Mahindra (UK) Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank.
Mr. Uday Shankar, Independent Director
Mr. Uday Shankar is the former Executive Chairman of Star India and President of Disney, Asia-Pacific ("APAC") region, where he excelled at creating not just the biggest media enterprise in the region but was also a pioneer of the digital media revolution across the region. He is the visionary creator of some of the world’s most successful digital services such as Hotstar and JioCinema that have become the mobile models for the entire world. He is also the Vice Chairperson on the Board of the merged entity, JioStar.
The tech stacks created under his leadership still remain the go-to model for mobile heavy, large scale markets, which are now being adopted by media companies around the world. He is known to have created talent nurseries at a time when the industry was still in its nascent stage in India and the developing world.
Mr. Shankar is an acclaimed entrepreneur, executive, technologist experienced in building scalable web applications, leveraging a wide range of technologies. In the world of consumer digital products and initiatives, over the last three decades, he has been instrumental in introduction of technologies, integrating cloud infrastructure and content delivery networks to ensure high availability and low latency of millions of users globally and has helped deliver high-quality world class products.
Mr. Shankar’s adept working in agile environments and leading teams to solve complex problems through innovative technology solutions, brings a unique blend of strategic vision, operational expertise and digital innovation to the forefront. Besides building businesses, he has also trained professionals who are currently running some of the largest technology companies.
Mr. Shankar integrated Hotstar into the Star, and was deeply involved in all aspects of technology i.e. design, speed, capacity, hardware, software, cyber-security, fall back mechanism, Nil or minimum disruption, protection of customer information & content, commercial aspects of charging, etc., besides serving as a mentor and providing guidance and feedback on product development, design, tech and innovation roadmap and recruiting the entire leadership, attracting and building talent from the globally-known tech companies. Under his leadership, Star transformed into the region’s leading company and led multiple large scale digital initiatives, data driven content strategies and technology integrations which helped scale businesses.
He is credited with pioneering the streaming revolution in India and the APAC region which was possible only using latest technology where diverse content was made available to more than 500 million users. Beyond his corporate roles, Mr. Shankar is also the first media executive to be the President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He is associated with the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and his social initiatives include, Malaria No More (MNM).
After a distinguished corporate journey, Mr. Shankar turned entrepreneur in 2021. He launched Bodhi Tree Systems, as a founder director, to use technology to redefine consumer sectors that represent significant opportunities, but suffer from a lack of capital and innovation—media, education and healthcare.
Mr. Shankar’s exceptional accomplishments have earned him numerous honours. Recognized by Forbes India as the “Best CEO (MNC)” for 2015 and named “Entrepreneur of the Year (Entrepreneurial CEO)” by EY for 2016, his achievements resonate widely. His inclusion in distinguished listings like the Indian Express’ “100 Most Powerful Indians” and India Today’s “50 Most Powerful People in India” reinforces his impact. Moreover, he was named the “Impact Person of the Decade – Media" (2004-2014) by Impact Magazine.
Mr. Shankar holds a Masters in Philosophy (M. Phil.) and Master of Arts (M. A.) Honors from Jawaharlal Nehru University
Mr. Shankar is an Independent Director on the Board of The Great Eastern Shipping Company Limited and a Director (Non-Executive) on the Boards of Studio 18 Media Private Limited (Formerly known as Viacom 18 Media Private Limited), Marigold Park Capital Advisers Private Limited, Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited, Business Standard Private Limited, Allen Career Institute Private Limited (Nominee Director), Asia Initiative PTE Limited, Bodhi Tree Systems VCC, Asia Initiative 2 PTE Limited and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (Section 8 company).
Ms. Shanti Ekambaram, Deputy Managing Director
Ms. Shanti Ekambaram is a Commerce Graduate, a Chartered Accountant and a Cost and Works Accountant. She is responsible for the growth of Kotak811, Treasury and Global Markets businesses, in addition to overseeing the functions of Group Marketing & Corporate Communications, Internal Vigilance, Internal Audit (administrative matters), Public Affairs, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental, Social and Governance. She is also responsible for the Group’s institutional customers, leveraging her extensive experience and strategic insights to drive the growth of this segment including oversight of the Investment Bank and Institutional Equities business. Prior to her current role, she led the Consumer Banking business at the Bank from April 2014 to May 2022.
Ms. Ekambaram has been associated with Kotak Mahindra Group for over 30 years and has rich and varied experience across retail and wholesale banking. She has been responsible for successfully setting up and scaling several business units including the Consumer Bank, Corporate and Investment Banking. She is also part of the Group Management Council that drives Kotak Mahindra Group’s growth charter.
Before joining the Kotak Mahindra Group, Ms. Ekambaram had a short stint with Bank of Nova Scotia - the Canadian International Bank, with their Corporate Banking and Treasury division.
Ms. Ekambaram is on the board of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B). She was a member of the FICCI National Committee on Banking for financial year 2021-22.
Business Today, one of India’s leading business magazines, recognised Ms. Ekambaram as one of the ‘Most Powerful Women in Indian Business’ from 2013-2017, 2019 and 2020. Fortune India had featured Ms. Ekambaram as one of the ‘50 Most Powerful Women in Business in India’ from 2016-2020. Ms. Ekambaram received the ‘CA Business Leader award’ from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in the Large Corporate
– BFSI category in 2020 and was also named CA Woman Business Leader in 2013. Further, the Ladies’ Wing of the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry recognised Ms. Ekambaram as ‘Woman of the Year 2013-14 in Banking and Financial Services’. She was listed by ET x Femina among the ‘Promising Women Leaders of India 2022’.
Ms. Ekambaram is a dedicated philanthropist who actively supports multiple NGOs.
Ms. Ekambaram is also a Director (Non-Executive) on the Boards of Kotak Securities Limited, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited and Kotak Karma Foundation (Section 8 company), wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Bank.
Mr. Jaideep Hansraj - Executive Director - Whole-time Director
Mr. Jaideep Hansraj, a Commerce graduate, is associated with the Kotak Mahindra Group since 1993 and quickly rose through the ranks. He oversees the Affluent customer segment and the Human Resource function, aiming to enhance service offerings and drive the People agenda. Additionally, as the head of 'One Kotak', he promotes collaboration across the Bank and its subsidiaries.
Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Hansraj was the Managing Director and CEO of Kotak Securities Limited (a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of the Bank), focusing on digitization and innovation, which led to significant business improvements. Before that, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Kotak Mahindra International Limited (a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of the Bank) and later led Kotak Securities' private client function. In 2004, he moved to build the Wealth Management portfolio at the Bank, earning numerous accolades, including being ranked No. 1 in the Asian Private Banker's India 2017 AUM League Table.
Mr. Hansraj is also a Director on the Boards of Kotak Securities Limited, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company Limited, Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited, Zurich Kotak General Insurance Company (India) Limited (Formerly Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Limited), Anukriya Foundation (Section 8 company).
Ms. Ketaki Bhagwati - Independent Director
Ms. Ketaki Bhagwati serves various entities as an Independent Director and Senior Advisor, providing leadership in strategy, business development, operations, governance and financial, credit and risk management. Besides being an Independent Director of the Bank, Ms. Bhagwati currently holds the position of an Independent Director on the Board of TU CIBIL Limited where she chairs the Risk Management Committee and contributes to the Audit, Customer Service and Nomination and Remuneration Committees. Additionally, she acts as a Senior Advisor to the Board of KPMG India Pvt. Limited. She is also a member of the Investment Committee at Encourage Capital, a US-based impact fund focused on investments in India. She actively supports women leaders in business as a member of the Wellesley College Business Leadership Council.
Previously, Ms. Bhagwati served as an Independent Director on the Boards of Axis Bank Limited, Bayer Cropscience (India) Limited and Omniactive Technologies Private Limited. She was also a Nominee Director on the Board of Tikona Infinet Private Limited.
Prior to her board roles, Ms. Bhagwati held the position of Chief Investment Officer in the Financial Institutions Group at the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”) where she worked for nearly twenty-five years, specializing in private equity, mergers & acquisitions, debt & structured finance and distressed asset workouts across various sectors in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Before joining IFC, she worked at CRISIL Limited in Mumbai.
Ms. Bhagwati is Master of Public Administration in Economic Development and Finance (from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government) and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (from Wellesley College).
Ms. Bhagwati has completed Master of Public Administration in Economic Development & Finance from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Wellesley College.
Ms. Bhagwati is also an Independent Director on the Board of TransUnion CIBIL Limited.
Ms. Ashu Suyash - Independent Director
Ms. Ashu Suyash is a successful leader, with over three decades of experience across banking, investment management and the global information services sectors. As the Founder & CEO of Colossa Ventures LLP ("Colossa Ventures"), she leverages her extensive expertise to foster innovative startups, drive growth, and sponsor diversity within the venture capital ecosystem. Her strategic vision and business acumen have been honed through a distinguished career of leading Indian and multinational enterprises, setting up and scaling new businesses and driving transformation and change.
Prior to founding Colossa Ventures, Ms. Suyash was the Managing Director & CEO of CRISIL Limited ("CRISIL") and a member of the Global Operating Committee of S&P Global Inc. She played a pivotal role in enabling CRISIL consolidate its ratings leadership position in India, grow globally and transform to become a leading Global analytics company.
Ms. Suyash’s previous roles were as CEO of L&T Investment Management Limited and as the Country Head and Managing Director of Fidelity’s Indian Mutual Fund Business, a business she helped set up and grow. She started her career with Citibank India, where she held several key positions across their corporate and investment banking group.
Beyond her executive roles, Ms. Suyash’s influence extends to corporate governance, education and societal progress. She is an Independent Director on the Boards of Hindustan Unilever Limited and Tata Elxsi. She is also on the Advisory Board of Aseema Charitable Trust, the Executive Committee of IVCA, and CII’s Corporate Governance Council.
She is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from the University of Mumbai.
Ms. Suyash, over the years, has been recognised as one of the top 50 women in business in India and Asia, and has received awards for her contributions to the Financial Services Industry.
Ms. Suyash is also an Independent Director on the Board of Hindustan Unilever Limited and Tata Elxsi Limited.
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