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Imtaiyazur Rahman Takes Over As Interim CEO Of UTI AMC

The announcement comes a day after Leo Puri stepped down as MD and CEO of UTI Mutual Fund.

Representational image of a boardroom (Source: <a href="https://pixabay.com/en/session-conference-meeting-teamwork-2548826/">Pixabay</a>)
Representational image of a boardroom (Source: Pixabay)

UTI Asset Management Company Ltd. has appointed Imtaiyazur Rahman as the acting chief executive officer after incumbent Leo Puri stepped down.

“The board of UTI AMC has appointed its senior-most official -- group president and chief finance officer Imtaiyazur Rahman -- as the Acting CEO with effect from August 14,” the fund house said in a statement. Rahman will look after the day-to-day operations of the company, working closely with the rest of the senior leadership team.

Puri had quit yesterday as managing director and CEO of UTI Mutual Fund after the end of his five-year tenure. That was after a boardroom battle between Indian and foreign shareholders of the asset manager cast a shadow over his extension.

Rahman has been with UTI for a long time and has performed a good job in various functional areas, UTI AMC Director D K Mehrotra said.

Earlier on Sunday, Puri had said that he did not want an extension as long as the board was sparring. T Rowe Price International, the biggest shareholder of UTI MF, wanted Puri to stay on as the chief executive at least till the initial public offer of the fund house was done. It had even approached the Bombay High Court on this issue.

Yesterday, the Bombay High Court adjourned the hearing of the petition filed by T Rowe Price to Aug. 28 after the U.S.-based shareholder sought more time. The row has escalated with domestic shareholders -- State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and Life Insurance Corporation of India -- asking the Securities and Exchange Board of India for more time to meet a regulatory order.

In March, SEBI had ordered three-four domestic shareholders to reduce their stakes below 10 percent each from 18.25 percent currently.

The domestic shareholders had also asked SEBI to apply the same mandate to T Rowe. Officials, however, said the regulator does not see merit in this demand as T Rowe does not have cross-holding in another fund house in India.

Puri is also said to have defended the performance of the fund house during his five-year tenure, amid allegations that the growth has been muted during his leadership.

T Rowe Price, which owns 26 percent stake in UTI AMC, had last week approached the court seeking a direction to the finance ministry and SEBI to prevent certain public sector units from stalling the company’s bid to come up with an IPO. The petition had also sought implementation of SEBI's regulations and to extend Puri’s term for another year to see the IPO through.