Mumbai, 10th March 2023: Mr. Chandresh Nigam, Managing Director & CEO, after leading Axis Asset Management Company Ltd. (AMC) successfully over the last 10 years has requested not to be considered for reappointment for another term, in order to pursue other personal and professional interests.
Mr. Nigam had joined Axis AMC on July 01, 2009 as Head of Equities and assumed the role of MD & CEO on May 01, 2013 and led Axis AMC for two terms spanning 10 years through its extremely strong journey of growth and scale up.
The Board of Directors (the Board) of Axis AMC at its meeting held today deliberated upon the same, and considering the aspirations of Mr. Nigam accepted his decision to be at the helm till the expiry of his current term which ends on Sunday, April 30, 2023. The Board unanimously placed on record, their appreciation for his invaluable contributions and his leadership during his tenure with Axis AMC. The Board wished him the very best as he begins a new phase in his professional journey.
As part of the internal succession plan, Mr. B. Gopkumar who is currently the MD & CEO of Axis Securities has been approved by the Board to be the MD & CEO of Axis AMC from May 1, 2023 till April 30, 2026, subject to receipt of requisite approvals as necessary. Pursuant to this movement, internal succession process at Axis Securities has been initiated.
Mr. Gopkumar had joined Axis Securities as the Managing Director & CEO in October 2019, and has over 28 years of professional experience in financial services industry in areas of sales and distribution, managing large teams, marketing & branding & building of digital eco-system. Mr. Gopkumar is a postgraduate in Business Management and is an avid reader, a fitness enthusiast, and a passionate marathoner.
To further strengthen the leadership, Mr. Ashish Gupta has joined Axis AMC as its Chief Investment Officer of the Mutual Fund. Most recently Mr. Gupta was the Head of India equity research at Credit Suisse. Having tracked the Indian markets for over 25 years across 15 varied industries, actively covering 130 stocks with aggregate market cap of over $2 trillion, Mr. Gupta has a strong understanding of global & regional macroeconomics as Head of APAC Banks research at Credit Suisse covering banking sector in 13 Asian economies. Ashish was one of the earliest to identify the asset quality cycle in Indian Banks in 2011 and authored several marquee reports including the “House of Debt” series.
Commenting on the appointments, Mr. Amitabh Chaudhry, Chairman of Axis Asset Management Company Ltd. said, “With these appointments, Axis Mutual Fund will look forward to capitalizing on Gopkumar’s experience and leadership in building large distribution businesses, and Ashish’s deep understanding of capital markets and its constituents. We thank Chandresh for his leadership and contribution to Axis Asset Management Company Ltd.”