The board of directors of Reliance Industries Ltd, at its meeting on Friday, considered and recommended to the shareholders for approval the appointment of K V Kamath as an independent director of the company. Kamath’s appointment to the board will be for five consecutive years with effect from the date of his assumption of office, RIL stated in a stock exchange filing.
Kamath’s appointment is based on the recommendation of the Human Resources, Nomination and Remuneration Committee, the company stated.
The board also approved the postal ballot notice for shareholder approval.
Further, Reliance Strategic Investments Limited (RSIL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has appointed K V Kamath as an independent director and non-executive chairman.
RSIL will be renamed as Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL) and listed pursuant to a scheme of demerger approved by the board of directors for demerger of the financial services business of the company into RSIL.
Kamath will continue as independent director and non-executive chairman of JFSL upon consummation of the scheme and listing of JFSL on stock exchanges, the release added.
A mechanical engineer with a post graduation in business administration from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, K V Kamath started his career in 1971 at ICICI. In 1988, he moved to the Asian Development Bank and spent several years in South East Asia before returning to the ICICI as its managing director and CEO in 1996 and post its merger into ICICI Bank, was managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank.
Under his leadership, ICICI transformed itself into a diversified, technology-driven financial services group with presence across banking, insurance and asset management in India, with a global presence. He retired as managing director and CEO in 2009 and continued as the chairman of ICICI Bank till 2015.
Kamath has also served as chairman of Infosys. In 2015 he was appointed as the first president of the New Development Bank set up by the BRICS countries from where he retired in 2020. He is currently the chairman of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID).
Kamath was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honours, in 2008.