Phone Pe Appoints Ex-Standard Chartered CEO Zarin Daruwala As Board Member Ahead Of IPO

Phone Pe's Top Brass Appointment: Digital payments and financial services major PhonePe has anointed ex-Standard Chartered India, and South Asia CEO Zarin Daruwala as its board member ahead of it plans to go public in 2025, as per the company's official website.

The fintech major's recent appointment of Zarin Daruwala comes after PhonePe has established itself as key player in India's digital payment ecosystem by capitalising on the launch of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) approximately eight years back.

Daruwala is considered a veteran after displaying three decades of banking expertise after having retired as the CEO of Standard Chartered back in April. She served in the top position for nine consecutive years. Earlier, she worked with ICICI bank for 26 years.

She now joins former Blackrock executive Rohit Bhagat, ex-IAS officer Tarun Chugh, Walmart officials John David Rainey, Donna Morris, and Leigh Hopkins, and PhonePe founders Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari as board members.

PhonePe redomiciled from Singapore to India in December 2022, with the intention to list in India. It is the country’s largest mobile payment company with close to 50 per cent market share.

Recently, PhonePe designated chief executive Nigam, chief technology officer Chari, chief financial officer Adarsh Nahata and company secretary Ankit Popat as the key management personnel (KMP) as part of the IPO process.

Phone Pe's IPO 2025 Plans

The Bengaluru-headquartered PhonePe had announced its plans to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in February 2025 on Indian exchange bourses.

After several successful fundraising rounds validated PhonePe's business model and increased its valuation, the company is currently narrowing its focus on attaining profitability and further streamlining operations in preparation for its planned IPO. The company was valued at around USD 12 billion in its last private fundraising.

On  the other hand, Phone Pe's IPO is expected to be one of the most closely monitored listings in the Indian market.