SoftBank-backed Ola expands leadership team with appointment of new CFOs

G R Arun Kumar joins as the Group CFO for Ola and CFO for Ola Electric, while Swayam Saurabh has come in as CFO for Ola's mobility, financial services and foods biz

SoftBank-backed mobility company Ola has expanded its leadership team with the appointment of two chief financial officers. G R Arun Kumar joins as the Group CFO for Ola and CFO for Ola Electric, while Swayam Saurabh has come in as CFO for Ola’s mobility, financial services and foods businesses.

“At Ola, we are building a world-class leadership team and hiring top talent from around the world,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, chairman and Group CEO, Ola. “Arun (Kumar) and Swayam (Saurabh) bring deep financial expertise across large and complex global organisations 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.”

G R Arun Kumar brings more than two decades of experience in finance and strategy. This includes managing business growth and turnaround, large scale debt and equity capital market benchmark transactions, governance and reporting and compliance.

He had 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.

Kumar 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.

“I look forward to partnering with Bhavish (Aggarwal) to build strong and profitable business models, drive efficiency in capital structure and businesses, unlock value and continue to build a best in the class finance organization,” said Arun Kumar, Group CFO, Ola, and CFO, Ola Electric.

Swayam Saurabh brings over two decades of varied experience in a cross-section of roles. This includes internal audit, risk management, business and operational process improvements and financial reporting. He had worked at 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. His focus would be on building strong growth with a robust bottom line.

“Ola is uniquely positioned to make a significant impact in an under-penetrated consumer internet space,” said Swayam Saurabh, CFO for mobility, financial services and food businesses. “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.”

Ola said it 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, electric, 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.