BharatPe, a prominent Indian fintech unicorn, has appointed Pankaj Goel as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), filling a position that had been vacant for almost seven months. Goel, a former executive at Razorpay, will lead the technology team at BharatPe Group and drive the technology and innovation strategy across the company’s subsidiaries. He will report directly to Nalin Negi, the CFO and interim CEO of BharatPe.
The announcement of Goel’s appointment came shortly after he shared his departure from Razorpay on LinkedIn. Having worked at Razorpay for nearly four years and previously at Intuit for over a decade, Goel brings extensive experience to his new role. His arrival is expected to strengthen BharatPe’s ability to develop best-in-class fintech products that will fuel the next phase of growth for the group.
BharatPe has experienced a series of leadership departures in recent months, making Goel’s appointment a relief for the company. The search for a CEO continues following the resignation of Suhail Sameer in January. In the absence of a permanent CEO, Nalin Negi has been overseeing the company’s operations as an interim CEO.
Amidst internal turmoil and allegations of corporate misgovernance, BharatPe witnessed the exit of several key leaders, including cofounders Ashneer Grover, Satyam Nathani, and Bhavik Koladiya, as well as CEO Suhail Sameer. However, the company has taken steps to mitigate the impact of these departures and has made significant top-level hires this year to streamline its operations.
Founded in 2018, BharatPe is renowned for creating India’s first interoperable UPI QR code. The fintech company enables merchants to accept payments through QR codes and point-of-sale (PoS) devices, and also offers buy-now-pay-later products. It competes directly with industry giants such as Paytm and PhonePe.
BharatPe currently serves over 10 million merchants across 400+ cities in India and has raised $583 million in funding from renowned investors including Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, Steadfast Capital, and Coatue Management. While the company reported a loss of INR 5,610.7 crore in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), its revenue from operations increased significantly by 283% YoY to INR 456.8 crore in the same period.
