Bajaj Capital has announced that Kamayani Aniruddh Nagar will be its new CEO. Nagar is a chartered accountant by profession and has been with the company for more than 15 years. He has also worked at ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank in various capacities.

This is the first time that a woman has led a portfolio company. She joined Bajaj Capital in 2019 as an associate and became its head of research in early 2020. She has previously worked at Credit Suisse, where she was responsible for managing client relationships and making recommendations on investment strategies.

“I am excited to take on this new role at Bajaj Capital,” says Nagar. “I feel honored to join such a distinguished group of professionals; I look forward to learning from them and working with them as we continue our mission of helping Indian companies grow.”

Kamayani brings over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, including serving as a managing director at Morgan Stanley, as well as heading up global strategy and operations for HSBC’s Asia Pacific division. She has also worked with several leading investment banks, including Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.

She joined Bajaj Capital Wealth in October 2018 from Morgan Stanley, where she was the managing director of global wealth management. Before this, she served as an executive vice president at HSBC Holdings plc for eight years and led HSBC’s Asia Pacific division.

“Kamayani is a highly talented leader who will lead Bajaj Capital Wealth into its next phase of development,” says Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, chairman of Bajaj Capital and co-founder of Knight Frank India. “I’m delighted that she has accepted our offer to join our team.”

Kamayani is a member of Bajaj Capital’s investment committee and will be responsible for the development and implementation of the firm’s investment strategy. She has advised on over $300 million in investments over her career, including the successful acquisition of many companies by Bajaj Capital.

Kamayani began her career at UBS Investment Bank, where she worked as an analyst. She then moved to Morgan Stanley where she was a managing director for nearly 15 years before joining Bajaj Capital. Her experience includes advising numerous companies on their mergers and acquisitions, as well as helping them expand into new markets or enter into new product lines.

Before this role, Nagar was President of McKinsey India’s Financial Services Practice and Head of McKinsey’s Financial Services Initiative (FIS) in India. He also served on McKinsey’s board of directors from 2008 to 2018. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Mumbai, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School.

In a statement, Bajaj Capital said that Nagar has worked in the financial services sector for the last 10 years, most recently as group head at Deutsche Bank India Pvt. Ltd. He also worked at Citibank India Ltd., Citigroup Global Markets Ltd., HSBC Global Asset Management (India) Limited and ICICI Securities Ltd.