Merchant payments and financial services player BharatPe has made two new board appointments in an attempt to grow the number of independent directors to prepare for its plans to go public.
The startup has appointed former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor BP Kanungo and Zomato Chairman Kaushik Dutta as independent directors, the company said on September 13.
The company added that former Union Bank of India Chairman Kewal Handa stepped down from the board to align with the startup's plans to ensure that the board comprises one-third of Independent Directors. However, he will continue to support the board and the management in an advisory capacity, the company said.
Speaking on the appointments, BharatPe's Chairman Rajnish Kumar said, "Earlier this year, we had put in place a robust governance framework and were in the process of identifying the right leaders who could join the Board in building BharatPe 2.0. The recent important appointments are driven by this very thought and we hope that the composition of Board, processes and compliances in place will lead to best governance practices in the industry."
Kanungo served as RBI Deputy Governor from 2017-2021, while Dutta has experience in corporate governance, including in his leadership roles at PwC. BharatPe said that Dutta's guidance will be key for the company as it prepares to go public in the next two to three years.
Suhail Sameer, CEO of BharatPe, said, "It is my honor to welcome seasoned industry leaders - Shri Kanungo and Shri Dutta to the BharatPe Board. With them joining, BharatPe has one of the most admired Boards in the country, comprising highly respectable names from the banking and financial services industry. Their diverse experience and deep understanding of the industry and the regulatory landscape will be a great asset for us at BharatPe as we continue to build products that disrupt the market."
With these appointments, BharatPe’s board will now comprise two Executive Directors - founder Shashvat Nakrani and CEO Sameer, five Non-Executive Directors, Rajnish Kumar (former Chairman of State Bank of India), four investor nominees, and two Independent Directors.
On August 3, BharatPe appointed former SBI Cards finance head Nalin Negi as CFO. The company has been appointing former bankers in various roles as it plans to grow its financial services offerings and operates Unity Small Finance Bank in partnership with Centrum Financial Services.
Early this year, BharatPe saw the exit of founder Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover from the company over allegations of misappropriation of funds. The tussle became public with Grover questioning Chairman Kumar as well as Sameer. The incident ignited a debate about standards of corporate governance in startups and the role of investors in ensuring that proper standards are followed.
Following Grover's exit, BharatPe said that the company was looking at an overhaul of its corporate governance framework and also sacked employees who were responsible for the misappropriation of funds after a corporate governance review was conducted.
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