Gupta’s resignation coincides with the upcoming announcement of Paytm’s annual and fourth quarterly results. Citing personal reasons, Gupta stepped down from his role at the company.
With Bhavesh Gupta, Paytm’s President and COO, resigning, the spotlight returns to the group’s challenges following regulatory action against its affiliate, Paytm Payments Bank (Paytm PB), by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
This constitutes the third senior resignation from the company in recent months.
Gupta’s departure coincides with the imminent announcement of the company’s annual and fourth-quarter results. Citing personal reasons, he resigned from his role.
“Following regulatory action on Paytm PB, various operations, notably lending, have been adversely affected at the company. This could be a contributing factor to some resignations. The core strength of Paytm was its payments bank, distinguishing it from other fintech firms in the nation,” stated an informed source.
The individual further mentioned that the company might experience additional similar departures in the coming weeks.
Paytm did not reply to email inquiries as of press time.
Gupta’s resignation is part of a succession of senior-level departures at the Noida-headquartered firm subsequent to the RBI’s action on its affiliate, Paytm PB, in January this year.
Departures at the firm encompassed the resignation of Surinder Chawla, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Paytm PB, in April this year.
Also in April, Sumit Mathur, the company’s chief marketing officer, left after a one-year tenure to join Glanbia Performance Nutrition.
Likewise, Varun Sridhar, the chief executive of Paytm Money, resigned from his post last week.
He has shifted to the position of CEO at Paytm Services, a subsidiary handling the distribution of mutual funds and other wealth management products.
Gupta’s resignation will take effect at the end of business hours on May 31 this year.
One97 Communications, the parent company of the Paytm brand, stated in a regulatory filing that Gupta will transition to an advisory role within the CEO’s office.
“Due to personal reasons, I have chosen to take a career hiatus. I anticipate providing advisory support to Paytm. With the established leadership in payments and financial services, I am optimistic about Paytm’s future growth,” Gupta remarked.
The successor to Bhavesh Gupta as the company’s president and COO remains unknown post May 31, 2024.
Gupta was promoted to the role in May last year, overseeing pivotal areas like lending, insurance, online and offline payments, consumer payments, and spearheading initiatives like user growth, operational risk, fraud risk, and compliance.
Previously, Gupta held the position of senior vice-president at Paytm before joining in August 2020.
Simultaneously, the company unveiled senior leadership alterations, with Varun Sridhar, former head of Paytm Money business, assuming the CEO position at Paytm Services.
Rakesh Singh has similarly been named CEO of Paytm Money.
“I’m thrilled about the strategic path we’ve embarked on under Varun’s guidance to enhance Paytm’s involvement in broadening access to mutual funds and wealth management products in India. I extend a warm welcome to Rakesh to our Paytm Wealth division, where we’re dedicated to crafting cutting-edge, technology-driven wealth solutions for young Indians,” stated Vijay Shekhar Sharma, MD and CEO of Paytm, in a statement.
In the aftermath of severe constraints imposed on Paytm PB, the company has restructured its leadership across various tiers.
For example, Vijay Shekhar Sharma resigned from the board of Paytm PB in February this year, relinquishing his roles as part-time non-executive chairman and board member of the bank.
Former bureaucrats and public sector bankers have been newly appointed to the board of the payments bank.
The latest set of independent directors includes Srinivasan Sridhar, former Central Bank of India chairman and MD; retired IAS officer Debendranath Sarangi; former Bank of Baroda executive director Ashok Kumar Garg; and retired IAS Rajni Sekhri Sibal. They have all recently joined.
Before the RBI’s intervention, the bank had four independent directors: Manju Agarwal, Shinjini Kumar, Ramesh Abhishek, and Pankaj Vaish. All have resigned subsequently.
Bhavesh Gupta, currently President and COO of OCL, will move to an advisory position post May 31.
Surinder Chawla, MD and CEO of Paytm PB, will officially resign on June 26.
Sumit Mathur, Chief Marketing Officer of OCL, stepped down in April 2024.
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