B. Gopkumar to be next MD & CEO of Axis AMC; other key appointments announced

The board of directors of Axis AMC approved Gopkumar's elevation to the post for a period of three years, from May 1, 2023, till April 30, 2026, as part of the company’s internal succession plan and subject to receipt of the requisite approvals as necessary.

A postgraduate in Business Management, Gopkumar had joined Axis Securities as the Managing Director & CEO in October 2019, and has over 28 years of professional experience in the financial services industry in areas of sales and distribution, managing large teams, marketing & branding & building of digital eco-system.

The appointment came after Axis AMC’s current MD & CEO Chandresh Nigam requested not to be considered for reappointment for another term, in order to pursue other personal and professional interests.

“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,” read the press statement.

“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,” the statement further read.

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, Axis AMC said.

Further, Ashish Gupta has joined Axis AMC as its Chief Investment Officer of the Mutual Fund.

In his recent assignment, Gupta worked as 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 an 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,” Axis AMC said.

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, the company said.

Commenting on the appointments, Axis AMC Chairman Amitabh Chaudhry 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.”