New Delhi: British-Indian investment banker and Cantor Fitzgerald president Anshu Jain died Saturday after a five-year fight with duodenal cancer.
Jain, 59, is survived by his wife Geetika Jain and two children. The former Deutsche Bank CEO had been living in London for the past few years.
“We are deeply saddened that our beloved husband, son, and father, Anshu Jain, passed away overnight,” the Jain family said in a statement. “There are few reliable statistics for life expectancy for stomach cancer in the third, fourth, and fifth years, because so few people survive these milestones. To his last day, Anshu stood by his lifelong determination to ‘not be a statistic’.”
Primarily known for his extensive work at Deutsche Bank as co-CEO with Jürgen Fitsche between 2012 and 2015, Jain has also advised industry bodies and governments globally, most notably serving on the International Advisory Panel of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
As the first non-European co-CEO of Deutsche Bank, Jain oversaw the bank’s equities strategy and management after the company incurred losses in 2008 during the credit crunch. Apart from rising the ranks, he also guided generations of traders and bankers who have gone on to work in the largest banks and firms across the globe.
However, after facing criticism due to job cuts, closures as well as losing confidence of shareholders, Jain quit the bank in June 2015. After joining Cantor Fitzgerald as its head in 2017, Jain expanded the functioning of the firm by recruiting teams of traders from larger rivals.
“Anshu always stood out because of his intellect and charm,” billionaire investor Marc Lasry, co-founder of Avenue Capital Management, said in an interview. “You enjoyed his company and thoughts, which is rare of someone in his position.”
Born in Jaipur to a civil servant, Jain graduated from Shri Ram College of Commerce and completed his MBA at University of Massachusetts. He began his career at Kidder, Peabody & Co (now part of UBS) as an analyst. An early milestone in his career includes creating the first hedge fund coverage group in the securities industry.
The ace investment banker received the coveted Capital Markets Achievement Award issue by Euromoney magazine in 2003. Risk magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award followed in 2010.
Apart from his work in finance and banking, Jain was also an ardent wildlife enthusiast. Jain worked closely with the wildlife conservation group, Tiger Watch, which issued a statement acknowledging the demise of ‘a dear friend’.
It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Sh. Anshu Jain this morning. Mr. Jain was a crucial supporter of @watch_tiger and numerous other #wildlifeconservation interventions across #India. We have lost a dear friend and India’s wildlife an ardent champion?? pic.twitter.com/jdsnGXb52i
— Tiger Watch (@watch_tiger) August 13, 2022
Jain loved to play and watch cricket and golf. Former Indian cricketers Ravi Shastri and Virender Sehwag as well as cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle remembered Jain as someone who closely followed the game.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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