About Uday Kotak
Uday Kotak (born 15 March 1959) is an Indian billionaire banker and the executive vice chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank.
In the early 1980s, while India was still a closed economy and economic growth was muted, Kotak decided to start out on his own, refusing a lucrative job option from a multinational bank. He started his own company, and in his first job as the loan officer, he managed the bank’s business to India’s largest oil firm, Indian Oil (Indoco). In 1986, while attending a Harvard Business School business plan competition, Kotak met up with J. R. D. Tata who helped him grow into an international banker, leading to a series of job offers from multinational corporations including Standard Chartered Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Kotak Mahindra Group was incorporated in 1987
The Kotak Mahindra Group was incorporated in 1987 in Mumbai, India with three banks including Bank of Baroda(BOB). In 1994 Kotak Mahindra achieved ISO 9001 certification and was re-certified in 1998 and 2003 year respectively. In April 2010, Kotak Mahindra Finance became the first Indian company to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Currently, KFSL has a market capitalization of over $2 billion. Kotak Securities is one of India’s largest brokers with a net worth of more than $500 million; it was part of the initial public offering that listed KFSL on the NYSE.
In 2010, Forbes listed him among 100 super achievers under 40. In 2012 Uday Kotak was awarded CNBC TV18 Suvarna’s B-School New Face Of Management award and in 2014 he won CNBC TV18 CNBC Awaaz’s Businessman Award for Corporate Excellence. Kotak Mahindra Bank won Forbes Asia’s Best under a Billion (2012–13) and Euromoney’s Awards for Excellence for Best Private Bank in India (2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014).
Uday Kotak was born in 1959 in Mumbai to an Indian Marathi family
Uday Kotak was born in 1959 in Mumbai to an Indian Marathi family. He is the eldest of three children of S. D. Soman, an ex-banker with Canara Bank, and Nirmala Kotak, a homemaker. His father worked as an officer with Canara Bank before moving on to join Grindlays bank later on retiring from there as general manager (retd). The family was originally from Khed, Maharashtra, and shifted to Mumbai in 1952. He did his schooling in St. Xavier’s School, Mumbai, and later at Kanga Valley College in Kalka (Himachal Pradesh) for a year before college.
Kotak graduated with a B.Com degree from the University of Mumbai’s Sydenham College, where Uday Kotak was an active member of the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan student organization.
After graduating from college, Kotak worked briefly at the Grindlays Bank, which his father left to work for Canara Bank before going on to join Standard Chartered Bank in 1978 as a probationary clerk in their operations department (in London). In 1981, during the 21st year of his service with Standard Chartered, aged 22 Kotak resigned from the bank and started his own export-import business in Mumbai. He started out as a bank officer with Canara Bank before resigning to start his own business and working as a loan officer for Indoco Oil Products Limited, which was at that time India’s largest oil company. During this period he also worked on sourcing stocks for companies like Larsen and Toubro Limited, Bombay Dyeing & Mfg. Co Ltd., etc.
Education
In 1986, while attending the Harvard Business School business plan competition in Boston, Massachusetts he met up with J. R. D. Tata who helped him grow into an international banker, leading to a series of job offers from multinational corporations including Standard Chartered Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Kotak returned home to Mumbai in 1986 and joined the banking sector by accepting an offer with the State Bank of India, which he led as its senior vice president until 1995. During this time he also worked with J. R. D. Tata who helped him grow into an international banker, leading to a series of job offers from multinational corporations including Standard Chartered Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. In 1994 Kotak Mahindra Finance became the first Indian company to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Currently, KFSL has a market capitalization of over $2 billion. Kotak Securities is one of India’s largest brokers with a net worth of more than $500 million; it was part of the initial public offering that listed KFSL on the NYSE.
Award
In 2010, Forbes listed him among 100 super achievers under 40. In 2012 Uday Kotak was awarded CNBC TV18 Suvarna’s B-School New Face Of Management award and in 2014 Uday Kotak won CNBC TV18 CNBC Awaaz’s Businessman Award for Corporate Excellence.
Kotak Mahindra Bank has attained the ISO 9001: 2000 certification, a mark of quality that assures the quality of products and services. The Bank also re-certified its ISO 9001: 2003 certification in May 2010, a year after the major global rating agency, Moody’s Investors Service, had upgraded it to the same level. Kotak Mahindra Finance became the first Indian company to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in April 2010. Also in April 2010, the Bank became the first in India to offer mobile banking services among its 22.5 million customers.
In 2011, Kotak Mahindra Bank was awarded Forbes Asia’s Best under a Billion (2012–13) and Euromoney’s Awards for Excellence for Best Private Bank in India (2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014). Also in 2011, the bank was named among the Top 30 Banks by Grant Thornton India Private Client Team of 2010 – 2012.
In 2012 Kotak received CNBC TV18 Suvarna’s B-School New Face Of Management award and CNBC Awaaz’s Businessman Award for Corporate Excellence. Kotak Mahindra Bank won Forbes Asia’s Best under a Billion (2012–13) and Euromoney’s Awards for Excellence for Best Private Bank in India (2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014).
In 2010, Uday Kotak was awarded CNBC TV18 Suvarna’s B-School New Face Of Management award and in 2014 Uday Kotak won CNBC TV18 CNBC Awaaz’s Businessman Award for Corporate Excellence.
Tata Group
In 2009, Kotak received the J.R.D. Tata Award (2009) from the Tata Group and an honorary doctorate from the University of Mumbai. He was also awarded the Pratibha Award (2011) by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, an organization dedicated to empowering girl children.
He has been married to Neera Kotak since 1983. They have two sons, Uday Kotak and Anand. Kotak has a personal interest in arts and cultural causes, notably being an active member of the Mumbai chapter of Artisans’ Forum, a group of notable Indian artists who meet regularly to discuss issues relating to art’s relevance in contemporary life. He even co-chaired the prestigious revamp of Mumbai’s annual International Film Festival in 2010.
Conclusion
Kotak Mahindra has actively supported the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The Bank is an active member of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Kotak Mahindra Bank was among the early adopters at the international level, when it started to provide micro-finance services for women as part of its Rural outreach in 2010.