Fintech firm BharatPe Group has appointed Aparna Kuppuswamy as its Chief Risk Officer. 

A seasoned leader with almost three decades of experience in the Consumer Banking Industry with extensive expertise in managing portfolios across all major product lines including credit cards, mortgages, and unsecured personal loans, Kuppuswamy will be leading the risk portfolio across the BharatPe Group of companies, including the merchant and consumer businesses. 

She will be working closely with the CFO and interim CEO, Nalin Negi, to further build a robust lending vertical at BharatPe.

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, the company said in a statement.

Prior to joining BharatPe, Kuppuswamy was the Chief Risk Officer at SBI Cards for over 14 years, where she led a number of key projects. Under her leadership, the company’s portfolio grew by more than 20-fold. She was also a part of the leadership team that took SBI Cards public. She managed the entire spectrum of risks facing the company in a fast changing and unpredictable environment. 

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. Aparna is a Masters in Finance & Control from the University of Delhi.

“In the coming months, we will aggressively focus on building the lending business across Bharat as well as roll out a range of credit products for our merchant partners and consumers. 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,” said Nalin Negi, CFO and interim CEO, BharatPe. 

Negi said Kuppuswamy’s understanding of the consumer side of financial services will help the company build 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.”

“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,” added Kuppuswamy.