Aruna Rao

Chief Technology Officer – Kotak Mahindra Bank and Group Companies

Full Name	Aruna Rao
Current Designation & Role	Chief Technology Officer
Current Company Name	Kotak Mahindra Bank and Group Companies
Past Company Names
No of Years in the IT Industry	30+ years
City you live in currently and since when	Mumbai , Since 1987
Native Town/ City you belong	Bangalore
Mother Tongue	Kannada
Language you are proficient with	English, Hindi, Kannada
Educational Details	MBA, MS
Awards and Recognitions Received CIO	India’s Best 50 CIOs by – CIO Association of India Recognised in Asian Banker’s List of Leading Performers in July 2016 Received NPCI award for Highest business Volumes in the IMPs and CTS areas – Feb 2017 Member of the Advisory panel for IBEX India Jan 2017 Jury member for Netapp – Business World Innovation awards – March 2017 Serving as Director on the Board of Intellect Design Arena Limited Kotak Technology and Digital Team won awards for: -Bharat Banking application awarded by Finnoviti awards 2016. -Most Innovative Company Award by VMware – October 2016
Gadgets you love the most and why	My mobile phone – it provides connect to my friends and loved ones, instant updates on events in the world, education, entertainment and now even serves as a substitute for cash.
What makes you laugh	Spontaneous wit, its particularly great when someone sees humour in in a difficult/tense situation
Current book you are reading and what you love about it	Fault Lines by RaghuramRajan – it’s a few years old now, but provides insight into the underlying issues that impact the Indian Economy.
Books you enjoyed reading the most	‘’What the Dog Saw’ – Malcolm Gladwel, Silence Speaks – Eckhart Tolle, Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter…
Software company you admire and why	The mega companies that have re-invented themselves to prosper in changing times like IBM, MS The new age technology companies that have carved out a new niche in the last couple of years – Google, Facebook Fintech Startups that bring so much value so quickly ..
Hardware company your admire and why	Same as above
IT personality you admire and why	Satya Nadella, uses his personal experience to give new creativity to leading technology company.
Your best moment in your career till date	Actually, it has been a journey with lots of individual moments, which I usually realise as a high point in hindsight …the moment my first custom developed system, a Cash Managament system built for Citibank, during by Citi days. The first product sale to a UK bank, in my Polaris days and recently, at Kotak when the integrated systems of a merged Kotak and erstwhile ING Vysya bank went live.
Your best moment in personal life	When my daughter was born
Music You Like	Almost any kind..The blues, Jazz
Movies You Like	Mystery stories, Dramas…Mission Impossible movies, James Bond movies, older epics like Chariots of Fire.
Most Liked Travel Destination	Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Why do you like your job	I love my job because it gives me plenty of opportunity to try new ideas, conceptualise and then actually execute to see the results.
Most favorite quote	Carpe Diem

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