Kotak Mahindra Bank's Chief Technology Officer Bhavnish Lathia Steps Down
In a significant leadership change, Kotak Mahindra Bank announced on Monday that its Chief Technology Officer, Bhavnish Lathia, has resigned from his position. The private sector bank cited personal reasons for his departure in an official statement and stock exchange filing.
Resignation Details and Board Acceptance
The bank confirmed that its board of directors has accepted Lathia's resignation, with his last working day being February 9, 2026. "We wish to inform you that Mr. Bhavnish Lathia has resigned as the Chief Technology Officer (Senior Management Personnel) of the Bank, due to personal reasons," the filing stated. It further clarified that his resignation was formally accepted on the same date, marking the conclusion of his tenure.
Timing and Successor Appointment
This resignation comes less than one year after Lathia's appointment to the CTO role in March 2025. In a swift move to ensure continuity, Kotak Mahindra Bank has named Nilesh Chaudhari as the new Chief Technology Officer. The announcement was made concurrently in the stock exchange filing, highlighting the bank's proactive approach to leadership transitions.
Bhavnish Lathia's Career and Contributions
Bhavnish Lathia, affectionately known as Nish among colleagues, brought over 25 years of global experience to Kotak Mahindra Bank. He first joined the bank in 2022 as the Chief of Customer Experience and Head of Technology in the Consumer Bank division. In this capacity, he was responsible for enhancing customer experience across all channels and improving service quality for the consumer banking segment.
After nearly three years in this role, Lathia was promoted to the position of Chief Technology Officer. His tenure was marked by significant initiatives, including playing a key role in Kotak Mahindra Bank's recent push to recruit 500 engineers from large technology firms, as reported by Bloomberg just days before his resignation. An ex-Amazon manager himself, Lathia emphasized the bank's vision of building a "technology company with a banking licence."
In a Bloomberg interview, he elaborated on this strategy, stating, "Where we see a unique opportunity is in combining talent from deep tech companies with talent that brings deep domain expertise. To me, it's like ginger and cardamom going into chai."
Professional Background and Expertise
Prior to his association with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bhavnish Lathia spent nearly 18 years at Amazon, where he worked across various business functions including product management, e-commerce, marketing, engineering, and analytics. His primary focus remained on enhancing customer experience throughout his career.
Following his time at Amazon, Lathia served as the Chief Product Officer at Valo Health, overseeing engineering, machine learning, and product management. At the time of his CTO appointment, Kotak Mahindra Bank praised his ability to tackle "high-ambiguity hard problems" and his customer-centric approach to deriving insights and creating solutions.
Lathia holds an impressive portfolio of over 40 patents (both approved and filed) in domains such as e-commerce, web services, distributed computing, and machine learning. Academically, he earned an MS degree in Computer Science from the University of Louisiana and an MBA from California State University.
Key Implications of the Leadership Change
- Leadership transitions at this level can significantly impact ongoing strategic initiatives and technological roadmaps within financial institutions.
- The appointment of Nilesh Chaudhari as the new CTO will be closely watched as Kotak Mahindra Bank continues its technology transformation journey.
- Lathia's departure underscores the competitive nature of technology talent in the banking sector, particularly as traditional banks increasingly integrate tech expertise.
- Understanding the circumstances behind executive departures can offer valuable insights into organizational culture and the challenges of merging technology and banking domains.
The banking industry will be monitoring how Kotak Mahindra Bank navigates this leadership change while maintaining its momentum in technological innovation and customer experience enhancement.
