(Chairman of Infosys Limited)
(Born on December 2, 1947)
Kundapur Vaman Kamath is the Chairman of Infosys Limited, the second-largest IT services company in India, and Non-Executive Chairman of ICICI Bank, India's largest private bank. Mr. Kamath served as ICICI Bank's Managing Director and CEO from May 1, 1996 until his retirement from executive responsibilities on April 30, 2009.
On 30 April 2011, K V Kamath was announced to replace Mr. N R Narayana Murthy as the chairman of Infosys. Murthy's last day as chairman of Infosys was August 20, 2011, Kamath took charge as the chairman from August 21, 2011.
Moreover, Mr. Kamath is currently an independent Director of Houston-based oil services company Schlumberger and Indian pharmaceutical manufacturer Lupin.
Early Life:
Kamath was born on December 2, 1947 into a Goud Saraswat Brahmin family, in Mangalore, Karnataka where he spent most of his early years. After completing Higher Secondary and Pre-University from St. Aloysius School, he joined the Karnataka Regional Engineering College (now called National Institute of Technology Karnataka) in Surathkal for a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering. After graduating from KREC in 1969, he joined the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) for a Masters Degree in Business Administration.
Career:
After graduating from IIM-A in 1971, Kamath started his career with ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India), in the Project Finance division and moved on to different departments to gather experience which included setting up of new businesses such as leasing, venture capital, credit rating as well as handling general management positions. As part of his general management responsibilities he initiated and implemented ICICI's computerisation programme. Substantial investments in technology from the early years have resulted in systems that are today a competitive advantage for ICICI. Kamath has generally been credited with expanding ICICI's businesses to evolve it into a technology-enabled financial organisation catering to the financial needs of corporate and retail customers.
In 1988, Kamath joined the Asian Development Bank, Manila in their Private Sector Department. His principal work experience at ADB was in various projects in China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh and Vietnam. He was the ADB representative on the Boards of several companies.
In May 1996, Kamath returned to ICICI as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Kamath was instrumental in expanding the Group's services to the retail customers. He initiated a process of a series of acquisitions of non-banking finance companies in 1996-98, and led the way to the formation of ICICI Bank.
Now, on 2nd may 2011 he is appointed as non-executive chairman of the second-largest software exporter, Infosys Ltd (earlier Infosys Technologies Ltd).
Personal Life:
Kamath presently resides in Mumbai. He is married to Rajalaxmi and has a son, Ajay Kamath and a daughter, Ajnya Kamath Pai. He has two grandsons, Nandan K. Pai and Lakshan K. Pai who reside in the United States.
Board Membership:
Kamath is a Member of the Governing Board on various educational institutions including the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indian School of Business, National Institute of Bank Management, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Kamath is also a Member of the National Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). KV Kamath was elected to the Board of Directors on Infosys Ltd on May 2, 2009 and on 30 April 2011 it was announced that he will take the Chairmanship of Infosys Limited on 21 August 2011.
Awards:
• Most e-savvy CEO amongst Asian banks - The Asian Banker Journal of Singapore
• Finance Man of the Year award - The Mumbai Management Association
• Best CEO for Innovative HR practices - World HRD Congress
• Asian Business Leader of the Year - Asian Business Leader Award 2001 (CNBC Asia)
• Outstanding Business Leader of the Year - CNBC-TV18, 2006
• Businessman of the Year - Business India, 2005
• Business Leader Award of the Year - The Economic Times, 2007
• Businessman of the Year - Forbes Asia
• Padma Bhushan award from the Indian government – 2008