K. V. Kamath
Born 26 November 1947 · Karnataka
Founded and led ICICI Bank as Managing Director and CEO from 1996 to 2009.
🔔 Add birthday reminderKundapur Vaman Kamath is an Indian banker and executive who is the current Independent Director and Non-Executive Chairman of Jio Financial Services and the former chief of the New Development Bank of BRICS countries. He previously served as the Chairman of Infosys Limited, and as the Non-Executive Chairman of ICICI Bank. Kamath also served as ICICI Bank's founder and Managing Director and CEO from 1 May 1996 until his retirement from executive responsibilities on 30 April 2009.
✨ A detail that surprised us
Kamath initiated ICICI Bank's computerisation in the 1980s, investments that decades later became a key competitive advantage in India's banking sector.
1. In 1971, after graduating from IIM Ahmedabad, K. V. Kamath joined ICICI's Project Finance division, setting the stage for his future as a transformative banker.
2. 🌏 Between 1988 and 1996, Kamath worked at the Asian Development Bank in Manila, managing private sector projects across Asia, including China, India, and Indonesia, gaining crucial multinational experience.
3. In May 1996, he returned to ICICI as Managing Director and CEO, where under his leadership ICICI Bank grew from $2 billion to over $60 billion in assets by 2009, pioneering India's first universal bank model.
4. 💻 Kamath spearheaded ICICI's early computerisation programs in the 1980s, making technology a competitive edge that helped ICICI evolve into a technology-driven financial services group.
5. From 2011 to 2015, he served as Chairman of Infosys, taking the reins from N. R. Narayana Murthy and guiding the tech giant through critical years of growth and transition.
6. 🏦 In 2015, Kamath became the inaugural President of the New Development Bank set up by BRICS countries, leading the institution till 2020 to finance infrastructure projects in emerging economies.
7. Between 2021 and 2024, he chaired the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID), overseeing the deployment of INR 20,000 crore to boost India's infrastructure financing.
8. ❓ How did Kamath’s engineering background from NIT Surathkal and management training at IIM Ahmedabad shape his approach to integrating technology in banking and infrastructure finance?
Awards & Honours
- 🏅Padma Bhushan
🔍 One thing most people don't know
In 1988, Kamath joined the Asian Development Bank in Manila, focusing on private sector projects in multiple Asian countries, including China and Vietnam, which gave him rare exposure to multilateral financing in emerging markets.
🖼️ Through the Years
📅 The Journey
🗝️ Discoveries
🎥 Speeches & Recordings
KV Kamath Exclusive: Past, Present & Future Of The Indian Banking Sector
YouTube📖 Curated Sources
🌱 What changed because of them
K. V. Kamath transformed ICICI from a financial institution focused on project finance into a diversified universal bank with retail and global operations, setting a model for India's banking modernization. His leadership at the New Development Bank helped channel multilateral finance into infrastructure projects across BRICS nations, influencing development finance models in emerging markets. By chairing NaBFID, he contributed to establishing a dedicated institution for infrastructure funding in India, impacting national economic growth strategies.
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