BharatPe CEO resigns: BharatPe Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Suhail Sameer resigned from his post on Tuesday. According to reports, he also had an argument with the ousted co-founder Ashneer Grover. “Sameer will move from Chief Executive Officer to Strategic Advisor with effect from January 7, 2023,” the company said in a statement without mentioning the reason behind his resignation.
The company further said that Sameer’s new role will ensure a smooth transition for current CFO Nalin Negi, who has been appointed as interim CEO to partner with senior executives to drive execution across all phases of the business.
According to BharatPe, a top executive search agency has been hired by the board of directors to help with succession planning and key CEO search. Notably, Sameer was given the charge of the fintech company after Grover was ousted on charges of alleged financial embezzlement.
The company has seen several resignations in recent months
The Sequoia-backed company has seen several high-profile exits in recent months. Vijay Aggarwal, chief technology officer, Nehul Malhotra, head of postpay, and Rajat Jain, chief product officer for loans and consumer goods, all resigned from their positions last month.
Sameer was ousted from the company in March last year by Grover along with his wife Madhuri Jain on grounds of cheating and other irregularities.
BharatPe board chairman Rajneesh Kumar thanked Sameer for “putting the company in a leadership position as a fintech player in India”.
“We recognized the need to dedicate time and resources to find a leader who can take BharatPe to new heights,” he added.
‘I am committed to supporting BharatPe…’: Outgoing CEO
Sameer said that the development of BharatPe will continue. “I am committed to helping BharatPe achieve its growth potential as a strategic advisor and look forward to the next phase of my journey as a full-time investor.” Grover, who is facing civil and criminal cases for cheating, had made personal attacks on Sameer in recent weeks.
Sameer, who was earlier the CEO of the FMCG business at RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, joined BharatPe as President in August 2020. He began managing the day-to-day affairs of the company in the following months and was formally named CEO in August 2021.
The withdrawal comes at a time when BharatPe is trying to weather the negative publicity around the alleged financial fraud behind it by Grover and trying to transform itself into a professionally run firm. The company is focused on achieving profitability ahead of a possible listing in 18-24 months.
(With inputs from PTI)
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