BofAML head of equities Saumil Shah passes away at 47

MUMBAI: A sense of grief gripped Bank of America Merrill Lynch India top executives early morning today when they received an overseas call informing the sudden death of Saumil Shah (47), head of equities, who was known as a fitness freak among his colleagues.

Although there is no official communique, he is likely to have died of a sudden severe heart attack, people familiar with the matter told ET. He was in Hong Kong and set to come back in next few days.

His mortal remains will now be flown back to Mumbai in a day or two as the cremation ceremony will take place in Mumbai only, said one the four people ET had spoken to.

The middle-aged banker, who is a son of an author mother, is survived by his wife and two sons.
Both the children are studying in school with the elder one is about 11 years old.

He had a long stint at BoAML almost close to two decades.

"He is also known for his people's skills. I have hardly seen him losing his temper even under stress situation. We are all in state of shock," said an executive on condition of anonymity. The person is not authorized to speak to the press.

Shah had started his career in the undivided DSP Myrrill consultancy services after obtaining his MBA degree from New York university.

He had spent considerable working in top cities like New York and London before he came back to India about 12-13 years ago.

He was made the co-head of BoAML India equity arm in 2012.

Just four months ago he was promoted as head of equities, said another person.

His designation was Managing Director at BoAML.

Shah was health cautious as he always avoided spicy and junk food. By choice, he was a non-smoker and a social drinker, said people with close association.

Earnings will recover in the current fiscal year though they will see downgrades over the next few quarters, Saumil Shah to ET in an exclusive interview about a week ago. This means valuations are unlikely to get re-rated from current levels immediately, he said.