Veteran banker & alumnus of IIT-Bombay and MIT passes away at 77 in US
Mumbai : Veteran banker of international repute Victor Menezes, who passed away in the US at the age of 77, was known for his zeal for work, uncanny knack for keeping a low profile and wide experience across a very complicated organisational setup.
One of the earliest India-origin CXOs to lead storeyed multinationals, he was once called by Citibank colleagues as “balanced, smart and quiet” person.
The Pune-born Menezes, with Goan roots, was an alumnus of IIT-Bombay and MIT. He had a 32-year-long association with Citibank and retired as the global banking major’s senior vice-chairman.
Menezes died in Miami, sources said. However, the exact reasons for his death were not immediately known.
He was born to former Indian Railway Board chairman Manuel Menezes and Nina Menezes. It was at his father’s insistence that Victor decided to go to IIT-Bombay in Powai. It proved to be the best decision of his life.
After getting a degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1970, Menezes went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US for a business school degree.
He joined Citibank as a corporate banker soon after his b-school degree and worked across all continents during his stint with the financial services entity.
He was brother of former Diageo chief executive officer Ivan Menezes, and was actively involved in various philanthropic initiatives.
In 2011, he donated US $3 million to IIT-Bombay to help set up a convention centre.
Victor Menezes is survived by wife Tara Anne Fonseca, a former beauty queen, and four children.
Indian business leader Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon mourned Menezes’ death, calling him a wonderful and wise colleague at MIT Corporation who will be missed for his intellect.
Condoling Menezes’ death, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “Just got to know of the sad demise of Victor Menezes, who was a legend at IIT Bombay from where he graduated in EE in 1970…Victor was a very talented man in many fields like dramatics and debates, and was a delightful person. For over two decades, he was a brand ambassador of India in Wall Street and in the American NY community and had strong partnerships with Indian institutions.”
Menezes, who got good grades and knew his subjects well, was better known for his skills as an orator. The debating society at IIT Bombay helped him hone his communication skills. The soft-spoken, shy Victor emerged as an unlikely champion in the fierce verbal duels which characterised the debates at the IIT.
“Victor won most of the time. He knew how to keep his head at the debates and attack his opponents’ arguments. Everyone wanted him on their team because he could win,” recalled one of his seniors at IIT Bombay.
After Menezes retired from Citibank in January 2005 as senior vice-chairman of Citigroup Inc, he became a senior advisor to New Silk Route Partners, a private equity firm founded by Rajat Gupta of McKinsey and Parag Saxena, which was his last known job.
