Bali woman posts pic with man, claims he's Indian-origin CEO Piyush Gupta; he responds, 'But I never said I was'

A man who was mistakenly identified as an Indian-origin CEO in a woman’s LinkedIn post has spoken out against her claims. The woman said she had confused him for Piyush Gupta while in Bali and was later corrected by the former CEO himself. In an interview, the man – named Kumar H Subramaniam – shared his side of the story to clarify the situation. As reported by Mothership, Subramaniam insisted that he never deliberately led the woman to believe he was Gupta.

Kumar H Subramaniam told the outlet that he immediately clarified the woman’s confusion when she mistook him for Gupta and claimed she acknowledged the mix-up at the time.

How did it all begin?

In a LinkedIn post, Janney Hujic described an encounter she believed was with Piyush Gupta, the former CEO of DBS Bank. She said she “glanced across the room and thought, ‘That looks an awful lot like Piyush’.” Curious, she approached him and was certain, “sure enough, it was him. Piyush Gupta, the former CEO of DBS Bank. Casual. Composed. Entirely unassuming.”

However, the former CEO personally fact-checked her post, stating, “Sorry to disillusion you. That isn’t me!” In reply, Hujic said, “Oh gosh, I've seen you when I was at DBS. I couldn't tell the 2 apart. Kudos to him. In his defense, he had your charms right on, and he said all the right things.”

Subramaniam refutes Hujic’s version of events:

He explained that while having lunch with a colleague at a café in Bali, Hujic and her companion came up to him and asked if he was Gupta. Subramaniam says he made it clear that he was not the former CEO.

Kumar added, “She and her guy mentioned that they had worked at DBS before and we joked about her pranking her friends that she had bumped into Mr Gupta by chance in public while on their holiday here,” he said, adding, “I never, at any point, said that I was indeed Gupta. I never agreed for my picture to be used to promote any business or social ventures on anyone."

“I do not condone any such actions of using any resemblance intentional or otherwise to mislead anyone, most importantly Gupta,” he further clarified.

He continued that the colleague with him during the incident could vouch that he never said he was the CEO. “It seems to many that I led her on, but I have no reason nor desire to be exposed to her project in this manner as a third person with a public reputation is involved,” he expressed.

He further stated, “Some have said I may have taken advantage and tried to bed her. I was not and she was with her partner or husband.”

The 58-year-old Singaporean has been residing in Indonesia for around 25 years and currently works as a teacher in Bali.