Kotak CTO Bhavnish Lathia quits in a year
In his resignation, Lathia said he was relocating to the US for personal reasons.
“The technology leadership team is stable, mature and ready for broader responsibilities,” he wrote in a letter addressed to managing director Ashok Vaswani. “There is never a good time to resign, but I feel this is the best time for me to step off the stage and let the next generation of technology leaders take centre stage.”
Following Lathia’s exit, Kotak Mahindra Bank has appointed Nilesh Chaudhari as its new chief technology officer, while Aravamudham (Vijay) Narayanan has been named head of innovation and artificial intelligence.
The resignation adds to a series of senior level exits and transitions at the private lender over the past few years. Consumer banking head Virat Diwanji superannuated in July 2024.
In January 2025, Ambuj Chandna, head of consumer banking assets, resigned to join DBS Bank as its consumer banking head, while Milind Nagnur stepped down as CTO to relocate to the US. Earlier, Phani Shekhar, head of credit, exited in April 2024, and Shanti Ekambaram, one of the bank’s longest-serving and most influential executives, retired in late 2025.
