U day Kotak is a self-made Indian billionaire who is the founder and former managing director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, one of India's largest and most successful private-sector banks. An MBA graduate, he famously turned down a lucrative job offer from a multinational corporation to start his own financial services business in 1985 with a small loan from family and friends. He started with bill discounting and has since built his company into a full-fledged financial conglomerate.

Under his leadership, Kotak Mahindra has grown into a dominant force in Indian finance, with services spanning commercial banking, stockbroking, asset management, and investment banking. A key moment in his career was the acquisition of ING Vysya Bank in 2014, a deal that significantly scaled up his bank's operations. He is renowned for his prudent management style and his deep understanding of the Indian financial markets. After nearly four decades at the helm, he stepped down as CEO in 2023 but remains a non-executive director and the company's largest shareholder.