Kotak Mahindra Bank Appoints Anup Saha as MD & CEO
Kotak Mahindra Bank on Thursday announced the appointment of Anup Kumar Saha as its next Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, following approval from the Reserve Bank of India. The bank’s shares rose as much as 3.5% in early trade after the news. Saha will assume the role from January 1, 2027, succeeding Ashok Vaswani, and will serve a three-year term, as per an exchange filing.
The stock opened higher and was trading 1.6% up at ₹424.45 per share around 9:20 am, despite the broader BSE Sensex declining 0.2%.
The shares closed 2.2% higher at ₹415.15 on Wednesday, remaining down 6.5% for the year so far. Kotak Mahindra Bank had submitted candidate profiles for the position in August, with Saha and Paritosh Kashyap, a whole-time director, recommended for the role according to CNBC-TV18.
Saha joined Kotak Mahindra Bank in January 2026 as an executive director, overseeing the retail bank, government business, data analytics, and marketing functions. He brings over 32 years of professional experience, including 25 in financial services.
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The executive spent nearly nine years at Bajaj Finance in progressively senior roles, including Executive Director, Deputy Managing Director, and MD & CEO, serving as its chief executive from April 2025 until his resignation in July 2025. His career also includes 14 years at ICICI Bank in roles covering retail secured assets, business intelligence, retail and rural collections, and credit.
Vaswani, who announced in June that he would not seek reappointment after his term ends on December 31, 2026, cited personal reasons for his decision, including the arrival of his grandchild, as reported by CNBC-TV18.
Saha’s educational credentials include a B.Tech in engineering from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow.
The appointment follows the bank’s submission of candidates to the RBI.
