Bhavnish Lathia has resigned from his job as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Kotak Mahindra Bank less than one year after joining. He said he is leaving for personal reasons because he is moving to the United States. In his resignation letter to Managing Director Ashok Vaswani, Lathia said that the bank’s technology team is strong and ready to take more responsibility. He felt this was the right time to step aside and allow new leaders to grow.
This resignation is part of a series of senior-level changes at Kotak Mahindra Bank in recent years. Before Lathia, the bank’s earlier CTO, Milind Nagnur, had also resigned in January 2025 after working for a little over two years. Virat Diwanji, the head of consumer banking, also retired in July 2024. This was followed by the departure of Ambuj Chandna, who left the bank in January 2025 to join DBS Bank. Earlier, in April 2024, Phani Shekhar, who headed the credit function, also stepped down. Adding to these changes, Shanti Ekambaram, one of the bank’s most senior and long-serving leaders, retired in late 2025. This shows that the bank has been finding it difficult to keep the same technology head for long.
After Lathia’s exit, to ensure continuity Nilesh Chaudhari has been appointed as the new CTO, taking charge of the bank’s technology operations. Aravamudham Narayanan will lead innovation and artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, indicating Kotak’s focus on future-ready digital banking.
Many top leaders at Kotak Mahindra Bank have left or retired in the last few years, especially in important roles. Bhavnish Lathia’s resignation adds to this trend and highlights the bank’s leadership changes and transitions. Kotak Mahindra Bank is facing instability in its technology leadership, but it is trying to stabilize operations by appointing new leaders and strengthening its focus on innovation and AI.
