Introduction

Kotak Mahindra Bank's managing director and executive vice chairman Uday Suresh Kotak, born on March 15, 1959, is an Indian billionaire.

Rather than accepting a tempting offer from a multinational back then, Kotak started his own business when India's economy was still closed and experiencing slow growth. As the company expanded into a variety of financial services, he became a well-known name in bill discounting, stockbroking, investment banking, auto financing, life insurance, and mutual funds.

In March 2003, India's Reserve Bank granted Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. a banking license on March 22, 2003, making it the first corporation in India's corporate history to do so.

He had a net worth of $14.8 billion as of April 2021, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. When Goldman Sachs sold Mr. Kotak a 25% ownership in two subsidiaries for $72 million, the two companies 14-year association came to an end.

Early life and education

Kotak grew up in a Gujarati joint family of the upper middle class that housed 60 members under one roof and shared a communal kitchen. Combined trading was the family's original business. "In the workplace, we have capitalism, in the home we have socialism," he said. Cricket and sitar playing had been his two favorite activities.

He acknowledged that he had given up on sitar playing in an interview with NDTV in 2014. His job decision was influenced by his aptitude for mathematics. Upon graduating from Sydenham College in 1970, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree, followed by a Master of Business Administration degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.

Career

A year after earning his MBA, Kotak founded Kotak Capital Management Finance Ltd. to become Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. By transforming a bill-discounting business into a financial services conglomerate, he created the second largest scheduled commercial bank, based on market capitalization, with assets worth $19 billion (as of March 2014). India (private and public sector) and more than 1250 branches were established with a capital injection of less than US$80,000 from family and friends.

Kotak almost doubled his wealth during the year after completing a $2.4 billion transaction in November 2014 to acquire rival ING Vysya Bank, which was partially owned by Dutch financial services major ING. Kotak Mahindra Bank shares also achieved an all-time high.

In 2015, Kotak entered the general insurance industry and is collaborating with Bharti Airtel, owned by telecom billionaire Sunil Mittal, to launch a small payments bank.

According to instructions from the RBI, Kotak must cut its ownership of Kotak Mahindra Bank to 20% from its current 30%. With a monthly compensation of 27 lakh (US$34,000), he was reportedly one of the highest-paid CEOs of any Indian bank in August 2019. For 2020–21, he became the leader of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Honors and awards

The Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year award was presented to him in June 2014. In Forbes magazine's May 2016 list entitled Money Masters: The Most Powerful People in The Financial World, Mr. Sharma was listed as the only Indian financier. He was placed eighth on India's 2017 list of the 50 most powerful people by the magazine India Today.

Memberships

A member of the Primary Market Advisory Committee of the Securities & Exchange Board of India, the High-Level Committee on Financing Infrastructure of the Indian Government, and the National Institute of Securities Markets' Board of Governors, Kotak also serves on ICRIER's Board of Directors. He serves on the Mahindra United World College of India's governing board and is a member of the CII National Council. Kotak also sits on the strategic advisory board for Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, a leading national legal practice.

Personal life

He resides in Mumbai, is wed to Pallavi Kotak, and has two kids.

His Life quote

"If what you create does not outlive you, then you have failed."

Summary

The article tells about the background and everything about Mr. Kotak his life aspirations and his journey to building a bank! For reading such articles keep an eye out for Dhannay’s blog post also follow us on social media platforms!