Bajaj Finserv has announced the appointment of Lakshmi Iyer as Group President, Investments, effective August 1, 2025, according to a recent regulatory filing.
Iyer joins the Sanjiv Bajaj-led financial services conglomerate after a distinguished two-decade career with the Kotak Mahindra Group, where she most recently served as CEO – Investments and Strategy at Kotak Alternate Asset Managers. Her exit from Kotak marks the end of a notable tenure that saw her play a key role in scaling the firm’s alternative investment business.
In an interview with Bloomberg earlier this year, Iyer had shared that Kotak Alternative manages approximately $20 billion in assets, with over $6 billion invested across 14 private credit funds. A majority of these investments come from overseas investors, including family offices and high-net-worth individuals.
With 27 years of experience in financial services, Iyer brings deep expertise in wealth advisory, investment strategy, and product solutions across fixed income, real estate, and alternative assets. During her time at Kotak, she also served as President and Chief Investment Officer – Debt, and Head of Products, where she played a key role in client engagement and the expansion of the firm’s investment offerings.
She was instrumental in spearheading Kotak’s Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) strategies, which earned global recognition from Asia Asset Management and ETFI Asia. Iyer also served on the AMFI Valuation Committee, contributing to policy discussions on valuation standards in India’s mutual fund industry.
Her appointment comes at a strategic time for Bajaj Finserv, which is actively expanding its investment portfolio through initiatives like Bajaj Finserv Asset Management, the group’s recently launched asset management arm.
Iyer holds an MBA in Finance from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) and was named among Asia’s 25 Most Influential Women in Asset Management by Asian Investor.
