British Indian Investment Banker Anshu Jain Dies After Long Battle With Stomach Cancer

British Indian investment banker Anshu Jain died on Aug. 12 in London, after a long battle with stomach cancer. He was 59 and is survived by his wife, Geetkia, a travel writer and children’s book author, his mother and two children. He was currently serving as president of New York-based financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald. Before that, he was co-CEO at Deutsche Bank along with Jürgen Fitschen and was the first ever non-European to lead the German bank. 

According to a Reuters report, “Jain played a crucial role in the development of Deutsche Bank and was instrumental in building the company’s global capital markets business.” He was appointed to Deutsche Bank’s Management Board in 2009 and was responsible for the Corporate and Investment Bank division from 2010. He served as co-CEO from 2012 to 2015. “He stepped down from his role at Deutsche before his contract ended after the bank was beset by a string of regulatory issues,” as reported by CNBC.

Jain’s contribution to Deutsche Bank and the industry was recognized with numerous awards worldwide, according to a bank press release. “For example, TERI Technical University in New Delhi awarded him an honorary doctorate and the London Business School made him an Honorary Fellow,” the bank said. “In 2010 and 2012, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Risk magazine,” the bank added. In the same year, “he was named Global Indian of the Year by the Economic Times of India, and in 2014 he was honored by the Jewish Museum of New York.”

Cricket commentator and journalist Harsha Bogle also took to Twitter to remember Jain. “I didn’t know Anshu Jain the banker,” he wrote. “The Anshu Jain I knew was an unadulterated cricket lover. My condolences to his family.”

His other positions included a role as an advisor at fintech company SoFi from 2016 to 2017 and as a trustee of British charity Chance to Shine. He earned an MBA at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and worked at several financial firms, including Merrill Lynch, before moving to Deutsche Bank.

Several news reports have quoted a statement released by Jain’s family after his death. According to the family, “he believed in hard work, meritocracy, operating outside of expectations or conventional boundaries, placing family first, standing by one’s roots in speaking ‘at the margin’ rather than delivering plain facts, in wit and wordplay, in being non-materialistic, and in the importance of having broad-bandwidth and being a ‘scholar-athlete.” The family expressed gratitude to the many people who cared for Jain throughout his life. “For us, his legacy is tenacity, honor, and love.”

Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, also released a statement, according to CNBC. “Anshu was the consummate professional who brought a wealth of experience and wisdom to his role as president,” Lutnick said. “He will be remembered as an extraordinary leader, partner, and dear friend who will be greatly missed by all of us and by all who knew him.”

Similarly, Alexander Wynaendts, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank, paid tribute to Jain’s achievements in a press release. “Anshu Jain played a defining role in expanding Deutsche Bank’s position in our global business with companies and institutional investors. Today, this is of strategic importance not just for Deutsche Bank, but for Europe as a financial center.”

Jain was a lifelong vegetarian and loved wildlife photography, safaris in Kenya’s Masai Mara, and wilderness conservation, according to The Times of India. He was also passionate about cricket and briefly owned a stake in Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai Indians, the report added.

In a tweet, Virender Shewag called Jain “a friend and an avid cricket lover.”

Anshu Jain was a friend and an avid cricket lover. Used to speak non-stop cricket on phone calls for hours.
Condolences to his family. Om Shanti 🙏 pic.twitter.com/tqtYas55on

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 13, 2022

Cricket commentator and journalist Harsha Bogle also took to Twitter to remember Jain. “I didn’t know Anshu Jain the banker,” he wrote. “The Anshu Jain I knew was an unadulterated cricket lover. My condolences to his family.”

I didn't know Anshu Jain the banker. The Anshu Jain I knew was an unadulterated cricket lover. My condolences to his family.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 13, 2022