Dipak Gupta will be interim MD, CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank for two months

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its approval for the appointment of Dipak Gupta as the interim Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kotak Mahindra Bank. Gupta is set to lead the bank for two months.

This development comes as the bank submitted the names of two potential MD and CEO candidates to the RBI on September 2. This move by the bank suggests that the RBI may be gearing up to finalise the permanent candidate within the next two months.

Dipak Gupta, an industry veteran with extensive experience in the banking sector, has been associated with Kotak since 1999 when he joined as an executive director of Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd (KMFL) and played a key role in building the retail business of the bank even before Kotak got the banking licence in 2003, according to a Moneycontrol report.

Prior to joining Kotak Group in 1992, Gupta worked with the consultancy division of AF Ferguson.

On September 2, Kotak Mahindra Bank informed the stock exchanges that Uday Kotak, the managing director and CEO, resigned from the role ahead of his term coming to an end by the end of this year. He now holds the post of non-executive director. His term as a non-executive director of the bank would be for a period of five years, not liable to retire by rotation.

"Succession at Kotak Mahindra Bank has been foremost on my mind, since our Chairman, myself and Joint MD are all required to step down by year-end. I am keen to ensure a smooth transition by sequencing these departures. I initiate this process now and step down voluntarily as CEO," Kotak said in a post on X, soon after resigning.