Mahesh Balasubramanian

Mr. Mahesh Balasubramanian is a Managing Director at Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Prior to Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance, Mr. Balasubramanian was leading Kotak’s General Insurance business as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer.
With over 25 years of experience in financial services industry having managed business across Retail assets, Retail liabilities and Insurance.
He joined Kotak Mahindra Bank in 2005 as part of the core team of its retail liabilities and branch banking business.
After successfully setting up and building significant scale across verticals, he went on to become the founding Chief Executive Officer of Kotak General Insurance Co. Ltd (KGI) in 2014.
He was instrumental in setting up the company, building a strong leadership team and a robust risk management culture with focus on digital process and customer service, making KGI one of the most sought after companies to work for.
He is a quintessential serial professional entrepreneur with nearly three decades of experience in financial services.
He started his career at Godrej & Boyce in 1992, and moved to Cholamandalam Investment & Finance company in 1994 as its first regional head for the retail asset business in the West.
During his five-year tenure, he led the expansion of its vehicle finance business.
He moved to Murugappa Group in 1999 where he was handling business strategy & planning, improving operational efficiency, mergers & acquisitions, and exploring new business initiatives.
In 2000, he co-founded Apnaloan.com - India’s first and largest loan market place for credit cards, personal, car & home loans.
He holds a Masters’ degree in Management Studies from the University of Mumbai and a Mechanical Engineer degree from Madurai Kamaraj University.