✦ Celebrity stories, facts and career updates. Explore F4U now →

Home › Biography › Uday Kotak

Uday Kotak biographyFeatured Biography

Image source: StarsUnfolded

Celebrities

Uday Kotak Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 14, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth15 March 1959

Age67 Years

BirthplaceBombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India

ProfessionPhilanthropist, Banker, Businessman

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpousePallavi Kotak

FamilyTwo sons: Jay Kotak and Dhawal Kotak; parents Suresh and Indira Kotak; sister Aarti Suresh Kotak

Uday Kotak Biography

Founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Uday Suresh Kotak built a financial-services group that grew from a small finance firm in Mumbai into one of India’s major,

Early life and background
Uday Suresh Kotak was born on 15 March 1959 in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra. He grew up in a large extended family in the city and attended Hindi Vidya Bhavan for school. He earned a B.Com from Sydenham College and completed an MBA at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), both in Mumbai. A childhood passion for cricket ended after an accident that required surgery and interrupted his studies for a year.

Career
After finishing his education, Kotak chose not to join a corporate offer that had been extended to him and instead set out to create a financial consultancy. With support from his father and a small office space provided by the family, he began learning the markets and finance. In 1985 he and banker Sidney Pinto launched Kotak Capital Management with seed money raised from friends and relatives. Early work included bill-discounting arrangements for large industrial groups.

Through the late 1980s and 1990s Kotak steadily expanded the business. He shifted focus from bill-discounting to consumer finance, bought H.L. Financial Consultants & Management Services in 1990, and acquired a stake in the Bank of Madura in 1992. He set up Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited in 1995 and entered into a joint venture with Goldman Sachs the same year to add investment banking and broking capabilities. He also acquired Business Times (now Business Standard) in 1997.

Kotak Mahindra expanded into multiple financial businesses: asset management, mutual funds, car loans and life insurance through the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2003, the Reserve Bank of India granted a banking licence to Kotak Mahindra Finance, making it the first non-banking finance company in India to convert into a bank; the group thereafter operated as Kotak Mahindra Bank. Over the following years the bank continued to grow through strategic investments and acquisitions, including the purchase of a stake in Multi Commodity Exchange and the acquisition of ING Vysya Bank in 2014.

Kotak’s leadership roles across the group included directorships in various Kotak subsidiaries, and he steered diversification into general insurance, broking, and other financial services. In 2014 he was appointed chairperson of Securities and Exchange Board of India’s corporate governance panel. The government named him non-executive chairman of IL&FS’s board in October 2018. He served as managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank until 1 January 2021, and resigned as MD and CEO on 1 September 2023. In 2023 the bank acquired Sonata Finance.

Public profile
Kotak has been recognized with multiple awards for entrepreneurship and leadership. Honors listed in his career include the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award (2014), Economic Times Business Leader of the Year (2015), and several lifetime achievement and leadership awards from Indian business publications and forums. In 2026 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

Beyond business, Kotak has held positions on international advisory panels, including with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and he has been associated with industry bodies such as the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Personal life
Kotak is married to Pallavi Kotak, who is described as a businesswoman and mountaineer. The couple married in 1985 and have two sons. One son, Jay Kotak, works at Kotak Mahindra Bank; the other, Dhawal Kotak, is a Columbia Business School graduate. His parents are Suresh and Indira Kotak, and he has a sister named Aarti Suresh Kotak.

Latest updates
In recent years Kotak Mahindra Bank completed the acquisition of ING Vysya Bank (2014) and later acquired Sonata Finance (2023). Kotak stepped down from the bank’s executive leadership in 2023. In April 2023 he made remarks about the power of the US dollar during a panel discussion and subsequently clarified his comments. In 2026 he received the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honors.
◈

Recent Work

Acquisition of Sonata Finance

Kotak Mahindra Bank purchased Sonata Finance, a small-scale loan provider, in 2023.

2023
Acquisition of ING Vysya Bank

Kotak Mahindra Bank bought ING Vysya Bank, expanding its retail and branch network, in 2014.

2014
✦

Career Highlights

  1. Founded Kotak Capital Management in 1985, which evolved into Kotak Mahindra Bank
  2. Converted Kotak Mahindra Finance into a bank after RBI granted a licence in 2003
  3. Acquired ING Vysya Bank in 2014 and expanded into multiple financial services
  4. Served on international advisory panels and chaired SEBI’s corporate governance panel
?

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Uday Kotak born?

15 March 1959

What is Uday Kotak known for?

Philanthropist, Banker, Businessman

What is Uday Kotak’s marital status?

Married

Who is Uday Kotak married to?

Pallavi Kotak