Nilesh Shah quits Axis Capital, to join Kotak AMC as MD, CEO

MUMBAI: Nilesh Shah, the MD and CEO of Axis Capital, has put in his papers. Shah will be joining Kotak Asset Management Company as its new MD and CEO.

Shah could not be immediately reached for comments.

Shah has over 20 years of experience in capital markets and was leading Axis Bank's initiatives in investment banking space. Prior to joining Axis, he was the deputy-MD at the nation's third-biggest mutual fund ICICI Prudential Asset Management. At ICICI he quit after serving for seven years when assets more than quadrupled.

As a mutual fund manager at ICICI Shah got both bouquets and brickbats from the industry but his safe bets and risk-averse style helped investors avoid losses. ICICI Prudential's Discovery, Dynamic and Infrastructure schemes under his watch delivered higher-than-average returns between 2007 and 2010, according to Value Research, a mutual fund tracker.

Although, most of the schemes managed by Shah did not give extraordinary returns, the were steady bets. In the fixed income side, Shah is known as one of the best managers the industry has.