KKR India appoints banker KV Kamath as senior advisor
MUMBAI: Global investment firm KKR on Tuesday announced the appointment of veteran banker K V Kamath as a senior advisor to KKR India with immediate effect.
Kamath’s appointment marks the latest milestone for KKR in the country, where it has committed about $7 billion of equity in asset classes that include private equity and infrastructure, the firm said in a statement.
“We are pleased to welcome K V Kamath as a senior advisor to our team in India, and are excited to learn from his terrific insights as we continue to invest in the growth of India.
“He joins at an exciting time for KKR in India, and I am confident of the value that he will bring to our franchise and businesses,” KKR India Partner and chief executive Gaurav Trehan said in the statement.
Kamath said he is excited by the opportunity to work alongside Trehan and the broader KKR team. “I welcome the chance to leverage my experience to help Indian businesses elevate and meet their full potential,” Kamath said.
He brings to KKR more than five decades of experience building and leading large Indian businesses.
Most recently, he served as the first president of the New Development Bank, a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS nations, from its founding in 2015 until 2020.
Prior to that, he was chairman of ICICI Bank and Infosys Ltd.
Last month, he was appointed chairperson of the country’s newly established National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development, created to support the development long-term infrastructure financing in the country.
The Parliament had in March cleared the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Bill 2021 to support the development of long-term nonrecourse infrastructure financing in India, including the development of the bonds and derivatives markets necessary for infrastructure financing.
“New approach to building #AatmaNirbharBharat!Central Government has appointed Shri K. V. Kamath to the post of Chairperson, National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development, a newly set up DFI in India,” Department of Financial Services (DFS), under the finance ministry, tweeted.
Kamath, the first head of the New Development Bank set up by the BRICS group of emerging market economies, had completed his five-year tenure last year.