After serving as Kotak Mahindra Bank’s President & Chief Digital Officer (CDO) for seven years, Deepak Sharma has left the position. Sharma was an esteemed and richly awarded digital expert who served Kotak Mahindra Bank.
He was among the first CDOs in India’s banking industry and also took charge of the digital leadership of Kotak Mahindra Bank’s digital division in 2013. He was in charge of overseeing and expanding the digital business of Kotak Mahindra Bank across all customer categories, platforms, goods, and channels. Using emerging technologies and India stack solutions, Sharma oversaw the bank’s digital strategy, transformation, payments, innovation, wealth tech, fintech, startup ecosystem, and future-ready activities.
Deepak Sharma played a key role in the introduction of Kotak 811, Kotak Cherry, and KEYA as well as in elevating the bank’s online banking app to the top of the nation’s banking app rankings. Sharma served Kotak Mahindra Bank for a considerable amount of time, spanning several important portfolios, beginning in 2008. During his role as president and chief digital officer, he oversaw innovative initiatives in data analytics, Al, mobile banking, and intelligent process automation (IPA).
Working with companies like Airtel, Standard Chartered Bank, and Hutchison Max, Sharma has accumulated a wide range of experience over the course of a career spanning more than two decades.
As a member of the Customer Advisory Board at Airtel, he played a key role in shaping the strategy, use cases, and customer value proposition for enterprise clients of the telecom company. He also offers valuable insights regarding product innovation in the realm of financial service use cases, particularly in the context of 5G technology. Additionally, he serves as a mentor to fintech and startup enterprises worldwide, generously sharing his expertise in areas such as product design and engineering, revenue and growth acceleration, business model transformation, platform and business expansion, as well as ecosystem establishment.
Deepak Sharma had been closely associated with Elets Technomedia and The Banking & Finance Post during his tenure at Kotak Mahindra Bank. He recently delivered a thought-provoking address on the topic of financial inclusion in the digital age at Elets 8th BFSI Leadership Summit took place on 23rd August 2023 in Mumbai. Sharma questioned the very premise of the topic, offering compelling data points and insights into how India is faring in terms of digital adoption and what are the challenges lying ahead.
During his insightful special address he stated that, “When examining all key metrics today, it’s evident that India has a solid digital foundation in terms of data availability, user intent, consumption, and penetration. However, the progress in financial inclusion hasn’t kept pace with the strides made in data and device accessibility. This represents a significant challenge for all stakeholders involved in developing India’s financial infrastructure.”
He had also been a part of several exclusive interactions with The Banking & Finance Post magazine where he showcased his insights on how technology is playing a significant role in the Indian banking industry.
Check out his past interviews:
Digital excellence, Key to Superior Customer Experience: Deepak Sharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank
