BharatPe Group has appointed ex-SBI executive Aparna Kuppuswamy as its Chief Risk Officer.
She will be leading the risk portfolio across the BharatPe Group of companies, including the merchant and consumer businesses. Kuppuswamy will be working closely with the CFO and interim CEO, Nalin Negi, to build a lending vertical at BharatPe.
Prior to joining BharatPe, she was the Chief Risk Officer at SBI Cards for over 14 years, where she led a number of projects and was also a part of the leadership team that took SBI Cards public.
She managed the technology risk function through the CISO organisation by managing the physical and cyber security policies and practices.
Kuppuswamy has almost three decades of experience in the consumer banking industry along with expertise in managing portfolios across all major product lines including credit cards, mortgages, and unsecured personal loans.
Prior to working with SBI Cards, Kuppuswamy was Director, Credit Policy at Ameriprise Financial. She has also held leadership roles at ABN AMRO Bank and Bank of America. She holds a Masters in Finance & Control from the University of Delhi.
Building cutting-edge products
Commenting on the appointment, Negi said, “Aparna with her in-depth understanding of all facets of risk strategy, credit policy and portfolio management, as well as extensive industry and product knowledge, will play a vital role in the next phase of our growth story as well as helping us in becoming IPO ready.”
The CFO and interim CEO of BharatPe added, “Additionally, Aparna’s understanding of the consumer side of financial services will help us build cutting-edge products that are not only relevant, but also are risk aversive. Lastly, her expertise in managing the technology risk will ensure we build highly secure products for our merchant partners and consumers.”
Amit Jain, who is currently the Chief Risk Officer of BharatPe will be working closely with Aparna and will be investing more of his time on collections and underwriting from a merchant standpoint.
Adding to this, Kuppuswamy said, “I am really excited to be a part of the promising organisation and spearhead the risk and credit strategy for the BharatPe Group of companies. I look forward to working with the team to build new products, that will make a huge impact on millions of unbanked and underserved businesses and play a key role in making India a truly digital economy.”