Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) Kenya has appointed Murali Natarajan as its managing director as part of reorganisation of its parent firm DTB Group, which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
DTB Group's chief executive Nasim Devji previously also led the Kenyan banking subsidiary but has now relinquished the role to Mr Natarajan.
The appointment of Mr Natarajan has been approved by the Central Bank of Kenya.
He is expected to lead DTB Kenya’s growth strategy as his predecessor now shifts focus to expanding the bank’s footprint in the East African region in a strategy that seeks to garner the lender at least 10 million customers by 2026.
“As part of our regional business growth plans, we welcome Mr Natarajan, a seasoned commercial banker with a wealth of experience, to assume the substantive DTB Kenya CEO role,” said Ms Devji.
“In this role, Mr Natarajan will provide strong leadership to elevate and accelerate the DTB Group’s Kenyan franchise business growth.”
Mr Natarajan joins DTB from India’s DCB Bank where he has been serving as the managing director and CEO since 2009. DCB is partly owned by the Aga Khan Development Network which is also DTB Groups major shareholder.
Mr Natarajan holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Delhi University, is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, and boasts an extensive career in banking, having worked in some of the world's largest banks.
Before DCB, Mr Natarajan was head of SME banking at Standard Chartered Bank, before which he worked at the consumer division of Citibank. He has worked in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea.
With his appointment, the group CEO will now “dedicate more time and focus in broadening and strengthening DTB’s stakeholder relationships and franchises across the East Africa region.”
“One of the key pivots of the strategy involves strengthening the DTB Group executive and leadership structure and appointing a substantive managing director and chief executive officer for Kenya.”
Ms Devji has been at the helm of the Kenyan lender for over 20 years, and has spearheaded its expansion into Uganda, Tanzania, and Burundi. Now, the lender eyes expansion into more countries in the region in its new strategy.
