Axis AMC names B Gopkumar as CEO, Ashish Gupta as chief investment officer

Present MD and CEO Chandresh Nigam to leave the AMC after a 14-year stint

Axis Asset Management Company (AMC) has appointed B Gopkumar as its managing director and chief executive officer (MD and CEO) in place of Chandresh Nigam, who is leaving the asset manager after almost 14 years.

Gopkumar, presently the MD and CEO of Axis Securities, will take over Axis AMC on May 1, 2023, said a press release. He joined Axis Securities as the MD and CEO in October 2019. Nigam has been with the AMC since 2009, first as the head of equities and then as its MD and CEO.

The company is bringing in former Credit Suisse executive Ashish Gupta as chief investment officer (CIO). Before Gupta's appointment, Axis MF did not have a CIO. The investment team was led by Jinesh Gopani (head-equity) and R Sivakumar (head-fixed Income).

Gupta left the Zurich-based Credit Suisse in November 2022 after a 14-year stint. He is known for his ‘House of Debt’ report that first uncovered the extent of non-performing assets (NPAs) in Indian banking.

The changes at AMC come weeks after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) released an interim order against the company’s former chief dealer Viresh Joshi over front running allegations. Sebi barred Joshi and 19 others from accessing the capital markets. It ordered the impounding of Rs 30.6 crore, the total wrongful gains earned from front-running activities, from Joshi and some other persons.

The new appointments are seen as an exercise to restore investor confidence in the company impacted by the front-running allegations.