BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer now strategic advisor as firm looks for new head

New Delhi, Jan 3

Fintech platform BharatPe on Tuesday announced that Suhail Sameer will transition from the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to Strategic Advisor, effective from January 7.

Current CFO Nalin Negi has been appointed as an interim CEO to partner with senior executives to strengthen the company's business, as the Board is actively searching for the new CEO.

"On behalf of the Board, we would like to thank Sameer for the tremendous contribution he made in steering BharatPe into a leadership position as a fintech player in India and helping us ride through various challenges during this journey," Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, BharatPe Board, said in a statement.

Kumar said that they look forward to supporting Negi in his role as the interim-CEO, "as we move ahead in our mission of empowering millions of MSMEs with a range of world-class financial products".

BharatPe in 2020 had appointed Suhail as Group President. An IIM-Lucknow and DCE alumnus, he was the first Group President at BharatPe and all Chief experience officers (CXOs) reported to him.

"I remain committed to supporting BharatPe achieve its growth potential in the role as Strategic Advisor and look forward to the next phase of my own journey as a full-time investor," said Suhail.

The top change comes at a time when the merchant fintech platform is fighting a case in the Delhi High Court against its former co-founder and managing director Ashneer Grover and his wife, along with family members, in a Rs 88.6 crore fraud allegedly committed under their tenure.

Late last year, BharatPe was hit with a wave of resignations at the top level, as its chief technology officer (CTO) Vijay Aggarwal and Rajat Jain, chief product officer (CPO), quit among others.

Apart from them, Nehul Malhotra, head of PostPe at the company, also moved on.

While Aggarwal, who joined BharatPe in March 2020, will "start his own venture", Jain and Malhotra are "also moving out to pursue their own entrepreneurial journey".

In August last year, the fintech platform appointed former SBI Card CFO Negi as its new chief financial officer.