K V Kamath: The Banker on Whom Technology Leaders Bank

Strategic Insights -

Kundarpur Vaman Kamath, a mechanical engineer with a management degree from IIM-Ahmedabad, has engineered one of India's most spectacular banking growth stories over the past four decades. Having initially joined the ICICI group in 1971, Kamath is credited with leveraging technology to create India's largest private sector bank. Now, as the chairman of software giant Infosys, Kamath joins N R Narayana Murthy, a fellow Indian IT visionary, in leading one of India's biggest wealth-generating businesses.

Key Takeaways:

  • Kamath has a 40-year career in banking, starting with ICICI group in 1971, where he utilized technology to create India's largest private sector bank.
  • As Chairman of ICICI Bank, Kamath serves as a non-executive chairman after giving up his executive duties in early 2009, although he remains a key force there.
  • At Infosys, Kamath joins as non-executive chairman, succeeding N R Narayana Murthy, one of the company's co-founders and a visionary leader of the Indian IT space.
  • Under his leadership, the ICICI Group transformed itself into a diversified financial services group with leadership positions across banking, insurance, and asset management in India and an international presence.
  • Kamath will have company in S Gopalakrishnan, a co-founder and current co-chairman of the board, who will be succeeded as CEO and MD by S D Shibulal, another co-founder.
  • Shibulal serves as Chief Operating Officer of Infosys and has over three decades of leadership in the IT services industry.

Statistics:

  • ICICI Bank was created by leveraging technology under Kamath's leadership.
  • Kamath served as MD and CEO of ICICI Bank from 1996 until April 2009.
  • Infosys is one of the few companies to establish India as the software capital of the world.
  • Banking industry is one of the main markets for Infosys.
  • ICICI Bank has its IT infrastructure as one of the major factors behind its growth story.
  • S Gopalakrishnan holds a Master's degree in Physics and Computer Science from IIT Chennai.
  • S D Shibulal has a Master's Degree in Physics from the University of Kerala and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Boston.
  • Infosys has a wealth-generating business, making it one of the biggest players in the Indian economy.

Sources:

  • PTI (Press Trust of India) - April 30, 2011, article 'K V Kamath: The banker on whom technology leader banks upon'