Rahul Pagidipati returns as CEO of ZebPay after Avinash Shekhar steps down

Rahul Pagidipati, CEO, ZebPay

Crypto asset exchange ZebPay on December 8 announced that Rahul Pagidipati will be back as the in-charge and chief executive of the exchange from December 1 as Avinash Shekhar quits to launch his own Web3 start-up.

Pagidipati will now be spearheading operations and working with the current leadership to grow new lines of business.

This development was first reported by Moneycontrol on September 24.

Along with Pagidipati, Dr Devaiah Pagidipati, current board member and founder of NAADAM (National Association for Advancement of Dalits, Adivasis, and Minorities) too will be joining the company to advise on new ZebPay unit focused on service to governments and NGOs.

Pagidipati first became the CEO of ZebPay in January 2020, when he acquired majority ownership from the three co-founders. In June 2021, ZebPay announced that Pagidipati and Shekhar would share responsibilities as co-CEOs.

Shekhar’s responsibility was to focus on increasing ZebPay’s market share in India as well as growing the company’s revenue, while Pagidipati led international growth and strategy. In December last year, Shekhar took over as the CEO, and Pagidipati remained the chairman, with the in-house title of Un-CEO.

“I never stopped being involved at the strategic level, but this year my focus has been on growth and investment opportunities. As I step back into daily operations, we will build new products and services focused on the specific needs of our different customer groups, whether they be individuals, institutions, or government,” Pagidipati, CEO, ZebPay, said.

“That includes the needs of regulators, because even as we innovate, we remember that ZebPay has a unique legacy of trust. Most Indian crypto investors started at ZebPay. We’ve been keeping customers’ funds safe since 2014 and we’ve worked with law enforcement on numerous cases.”

Pagidipati had earlier told Moneycontrol that ZebPay is exploring solutions and plans to become a financial advisor for cryptocurrency start-ups, in a bid to diversify from being only a mainstream exchange. Crypto exchanges in India lost nearly 85-90 percent of its volumes in the recent times amidst macro uncertainty, crashing token prices and new taxation in India.

ZebPay too had announced company-wide pay cuts to sustain business and senior management members took larger cut.

“Building ZebPay has been a wonderful and rewarding journey as I was able to closely witness India’s potential for the crypto and Web3 space. This, in fact, birthed the idea for my new venture. Rahul has always been my sounding board throughout my journey at ZebPay and has been nothing but supportive, when I expressed the desire to take the entrepreneurial route. I am confident that Rahul’s expertise and passion for the Web3 space will help ZebPay in reaching new heights,” Shekhar said.