Kotak Mahindra Bank CTO Bhavnish Lathia resigns, Nilesh Chaudhari steps in
Kotak Mahindra Bank said CTO Bhavnish Lathia has resigned citing personal reasons and will step down in February 2026; Nilesh Chaudhari has been appointed his successor
 "Kotak Mahindra Bank CTO Bhavnish Lathia resigns, Nilesh Chaudhari steps in")
Kotak Mahindra Bank on Monday announced the resignation of its Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Bhavnish Lathia, citing personal reasons. The bank said Lathia’s resignation had been accepted and that he served his last working day on February 9.
In his resignation letter, Lathia said: “I need to return to the US for personal reasons. As a result, I will resign as CTO for Kotak Mahindra Bank effective today.”
Lathia was appointed CTO in March 2025, following the resignation of Milind Nagnur, who had stepped down from his role as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and CTO in February 2025, effective February 15.
The bank has appointed Nilesh Chaudhari its new CTO and designated him as senior management personnel. Chaudhari has nearly 29 years of experience across global and Indian financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, Citigroup, and IDFC First Bank.
Chaudhari has held several senior leadership roles, including CIO – Global Payments at Barclays; head of retail banking technology and head of Asia Banking Technology at JPMorgan; and CTO for corporate and wholesale banking at IDFC First Bank.
His expertise spans payments, core banking, treasury, cash management, digital platforms, data, lending, and large-scale technology transformation across more than 20 countries.
An engineer by training, Chaudhari holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Poona, and leading complex technology modernisation programmes. At Kotak Mahindra Bank, he plays a key role in advancing strategic technology initiatives across wholesale banking, commercial banking, treasury, GIFT City operations, assurance, and enabling functions.
Separately, the bank also announced the appointment of Aravamudham Narayanan (Vijay Narayanan) as head (innovation and AI) and as senior management personnel of the bank.
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