Mr K.V. Kamath

President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Date of Birth: 02/12/1947
Place of Birth: Mangalore, Karnataka

The sixty-year-old from Mangalore is revered in business circles for transforming a small lender, ICICI Bank, into a dynamic private enterprise. He joined ICICI in 1971, working in project finance and making his mark as an able manager with a shrewd eye for opportunity. In 1988, he began an eight-year stint at the Asian Development Bank in Manila.

His return to ICICI in 1996, as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, coincided with newly-enacted economic reforms that created the conditions for ICICI to flourish. Under Kamath, the bank introduced a range of services for corporate clients and introduced cash points throughout the country. Successful public offerings in 1998, 2004 and 2005 made it India's largest private bank by market capitalisation.

The bank established a South African office in 2006 to tap into the trade between the two countries, currently some US$4.7 billion and a sum which officials plan to increase to $10 bn. by 2010.

Kamath the CEO keeps his cards near his chest but on 1 May he became President of the CII, a business association that brings together the luminaries of the entrepreneurial class and promotes the country's industry at home and abroad. In this capacity, Kamath shows unconstrained enthusiasm for Africa. The CII has trumpeted plans to boost India's already burgeoning economy to 10% annual growth and Indian investment in Africa features prominently in the plans.