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BharatPe’s CEO, Suhail Sameer, will step down from his position later this week as the Indian financial startup struggles to find a new leader after dumping its founder last year for allegedly misusing company funds.
The startup with its headquarters in New Delhi, which is funded by Sequoia India, Tiger Global, Coatue, Dragoneer, and Ribbit Capital, announced that Sameer will transition to a strategic advisor role on January 7 and that Nalin Negi, the company’s current chief financial officer, will serve as the interim CEO.
“We have recognized the need to dedicate time and resources to finding the leader who will continue to catapult BharatPe to new heights, and we are grateful for the commitment from Suhail and Nalin. We look forward to supporting Nalin 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,” said Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of BharatPe Board, in a statement.
Ashneer Grover, the founder of BharatPe, was forced to retire last year following an oddly public fight with the startup’s board, which claimed that he had misappropriated company cash. The startup also filed a lawsuit against Grover and his wife, Madhuri Jain, last month for damages totaling $10.7 million.
The second part of 2021 saw Sameer assume the role of CEO. Grover claimed that Sameer had turned into the “board’s puppet” as the two’s relationship deteriorated and the startup looked into fraud claims made against Grover.
Early on Tuesday, the Indian newspaper Mint was the first to report about Sameer’s departure.
The latest setback at the Indian fintech, which formerly provided fierce competition to established players with its QR-code and payments solutions for merchants, is Sameer’s departure. A once-rapidly expanding fintech company, valued at $2.85 billion and with over $580 million in funding to far, is still reeling from the drama surrounding the departure of its founder and has turned into the clown car of the Indian startup scene.
The management and leadership teams of the business have been overhauled during the past two years by Rajnish Kumar, the former chairman of State Bank of India, but it is still uncertain whether his gamble will be successful.