BharatPe appoints ex-Paytm exec Ajit Kumar as new CTO

IPO-bound fintech startup bharatpe has appointed former Paytm senior vice president Ajit Kumar as its new CTO, following the departure of its previous CTO, Pankaj Goel, a few months ago.

BharatPe said Kumar will lead the startup’s technology strategy and drive innovations across its payments and lending platforms. Before this, he spent around nine years at Paytm, joining as a general manager in 2017.

Over his nearly 20-year career, the IIT-Guwahati alumnus has worked with tech companies including Snapdeal, Times Internet, and xAd Inc.

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“His proven experience in building scalable fintech platforms and his deep understanding of payments and UPI infrastructure will be instrumental as we continue to innovate and strengthen our technology stack,” BharatPe’s CEO Nalin Negi said on the appointment. 

Kumar will take over as CTO at the fintech unicorn, five months after Goel left the company for “personal reasons” and later joined LeadSquared as CTO in June 2025.

Goel’s exit was part of broader leadership changes at BharatPe. Earlier this year, CMO Parth Joshi resigned to start his own venture, while CHRO Smriti Handa and chief data scientist Ritesh Mohan Srivastava also moved on to new opportunities.

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These departures led to a top-level reshuffle at BharatPe, with a structured leadership realignment. CBO Sandeep Indurkar now heads the banking vertical as CEO of payments, Kohinoor Biswas leads the consumer business, and Rijish Raghavan oversees the PoS device business.

All three report directly to CEO Negi, ensuring closer coordination across key areas as the company prepares for growth and an eventual IPO. BharatPe aims to go public on Indian stock exchanges by FY27. In January, Negi stated the startup plans to achieve EBITDA profitability in FY25, targeting an IPO within 18–24 months.

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