One 97 Communications, which operates digital payments firm Paytm, on Tuesday said it has elevated Bhavesh Gupta as its president and chief operating officer.
In his new role, Gupta will be leading the company’s lending, insurance, online and offline payments, and consumer payments verticals. He will drive key initiatives including user growth, operations risk, fraud risk and compliance, the company said in an exchange filing.
Gupta, who joined Paytm in 2020, has been leading Paytm’s lending business as senior vice-president. Previously, he was the founding member and chief executive of Clix Capital, a Gurugram-based financial services firm that provides instant personal loans.
An IIM-Indore alumnus, Gupta has more than 25 years of experience and has worked in leadership roles across major financial services companies in the country. He headed the small and medium enterprises and business banking at IDFC Bank and took up various roles in ICICI bank, including General Manager and Head of Business Banking.
Gupta will continue to report to Paytm chief executive Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
The fintech major is relying on its payments and lending business to drive growth. It reported a 61% growth in its revenue in the last financial year to Rs 7,990 crore, with its financial services and other verticals growing by three times during the year. The payments business, however, remains the biggest contributor to its revenue.
Shares of Paytm have risen by more than 30% since the beginning of the year on the back of strong performance with positive upgrades from analysts and brokerages including that from Macquarie and Goldman Sachs. The company reported its first-ever adjusted EBITDA profit for the quarter ended December 2022, three quarters ahead of its guidance.
