Ola continues top talent hiring, expands leadership team with appointment of new CFOs
Mumbai: Ola, the world’s leading mobility company, today announced the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of two Chief Financial Officers. G. R. Arun Kumar joins as the Group CFO for Ola & CFO for Ola Electric, while Swayam Saurabh has come in as CFO for Ola’s Mobility, Financial Services, and Foods businesses.
Having worked across varied consumer and industrial sectors in both corporate multinationals as well as entrepreneur-led global companies, including Vedanta Resources, GE, and Hindustan Unilever, G. R. Arun Kumar brings more than two decades of experience in finance and strategy, including managing business growth and turnaround, large scale debt and equity capital market benchmark transactions, governance and reporting & compliance. With his experience in leading large-scale supply chain teams, delivering sales & supplier returns, managing large third-party manufacturing and of greenfield manufacturing projects, Arun joins the Ola leadership team at a time when Ola Electric is racing ahead to build the world’s largest two-wheeler factory which will also co-locate key critical suppliers in 2 supplier parks at the 500-acre site in Tamil Nadu, India.
Swayam Saurabh brings over two decades of varied experience in a cross-section of roles including internal audit, risk management, business and operational process improvements, and financial reporting, with companies including Hindustan Zinc, Philips, Asian Paints, and Larsen & Toubro. He joins the Ola leadership team as CFO of the high-growth mobility business, as well as the fast-growing financial services and foods businesses, with a focus on building strong growth with a robust bottom line.
Commenting on the appointments, Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman, and Group CEO, Ola, said, “At Ola, we are building a world-class leadership team and hiring top talent from around the world. Arun and Swayam bring deep financial expertise across large and complex global organizations and multiple industries including minerals, construction, and FMCG amongst others. I look forward to working with them to deliver our growth ambitions while maximizing capital efficiency.”
Upon joining the company, Arun Kumar, Group CFO, Ola, and CFO, Ola Electric, said, “I am elated to have the opportunity to be associated with the game-changing vision of Bhavish and the Ola group to transform the urban mobility space by driving the acceleration to electric vehicles, as well as to expand the footprint of all its consumer internet businesses globally. I look forward to partnering with Bhavish to build strong & profitable business models, drive efficiency in capital structure & businesses, unlock value and continue to build a best in class finance organization”.
Swayam Saurabh, CFO for Mobility, Financial Services and Food businesses, Ola, said, “Ola is uniquely positioned to make a significant impact in an under-penetrated consumer internet space and I find it super exciting to have the opportunity to be part of the team that will help fuel its next phase of profitable growth. While our primary focus remains creating and delivering rapid growth opportunities, I am also looking forward to creating a strong culture of margin-mindset with world-class governance and processes.”
Ola is building a strong talent organization and leadership pipeline that will help it move to its next phase of growth across its businesses of mobility, electricity, financial services, and foods. These two appointments follow several recent hires, including Rakesh Bhardwaj as Group CIO, N Balachandar as Ola Electric CHRO, Wayne Burgess as Ola Electric’s Head of Design, and Y. S. Kim as Ola Electric’s global head of sales and distribution.
