BharatPe Group Names Aparna Kuppuswamy As Chief Risk Officer

BharatPe Group has named Aparna Kuppuswamy as its new Chief Risk Officer, adding to the company's leadership team.

With nearly 30 years of experience in the consumer banking industry and a wealth of knowledge in managing credit cards, mortgages, and unsecured personal loans, Aparna Kuppuswamy is a seasoned leader who will be taking charge of the risk portfolio for both the merchant and consumer businesses of the BharatPe Group.

In her role as Chief Risk Officer, Aparna will collaborate closely with interim CEO Nalin Negi and CFO to strengthen the lending vertical at BharatPe.

Nalin Negi, CFO and interim CEO, BharatPe 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. 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 risk aversive. Lastly, her expertise in managing technology risk will ensure we build highly secure products for our merchant partners and consumers. On behalf of the leadership team at BharatPe, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Aparna.” 

Kuppuswamy is widely recognized as a highly respected professional in the banking and financial services industry. Prior to joining BharatPe, she served as Chief Risk Officer at SBI Cards for more than 14 years, where she spearheaded several key initiatives. Under her guidance, the company's portfolio grew over 20-fold, and she was part of the leadership team that took SBI Cards public. Aparna's expertise enabled her to manage the full range of risks facing the company in an ever-changing and unpredictable environment.

She collaborated with frontline business and operational groups to create the risk appetite framework for the company, and worked closely with the Risk Management Committee of the Board. Aparna was responsible for defining, measuring, reporting, and closely monitoring credit, operational, fraud, regulatory, and information security risks. She also managed the Technology Risk function through the CISO organization, where she oversaw physical and cyber security policies and practices, as well as improved the security architecture and posture of the company. Before SBI Cards, Aparna held leadership roles at ABN AMRO Bank, Bank of America, and Ameriprise Financial, where she served as Director of Credit Policy. Aparna holds a Master's in Finance & Control from the University of Delhi. 

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.

Added Kuppuswamy, “BharatPe’s success story in the fintech industry is a case study in itself. In less than four years, the company has emerged as one of the country's leading proponents of digital payments and B2B lending. It now has a well-established network of over 1 crore merchants in 400+ cities. The company has also done phenomenal work in facilitating credit to merchants – with over Rs. 8000 crore worth of loans facilitated to lakhs of merchants across the country. I am really excited to be a part of the promising organization 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 have a huge impact on millions of unbanked and underserved businesses and play a key role in making India a truly digital economy.”