Health-tech firm Practo builds out leadership bench ahead of potential IPO

Health-tech firm hires senior executives across operations, AI and strategy as it targets $1 billion GMV and prepares for a potential IPO by year-end

Bengaluru-based health-tech firm Practo has quietly revamped its leadership bench over the past year, bringing in a string of senior hires as it enters what it describes as its next phase of growth and a potential IPO by year-end.

 

The company, founded in 2008 by Shashank ND, Abhinav Lal and Siddhartha Nihalani, has brought in five senior leaders since February 2025 across operations, strategy, marketing, AI, product, technology and corporate development.

 

The appointments include Jagnoor Singh as global chief operating officer, Shoumyan Biswas as global chief marketing and strategy officer, Sonam Chopra as head of corporate development, Cijo George as vice president of AI, and Srijesh K as chief product and technology officer — the last two joining as recently as February 2026.

 

 

“This is not routine hiring. When you see a company bring in a COO from OYO, a CMO from Flipkart and Tata Digital, a corporate development head, and a CPTO, all within a year, it tells you the organisation is building institutional muscle for its next chapter,” said a person familiar with the developments.

 

Practo declined to comment on its strategy related to these developments.

 

The management expansion has been accompanied by board-level additions. Last month, former Union Health Secretary C.K. Mishra, a retired IAS officer with 37 years of public service, joined as an independent director.

 

The new hires collectively bring experience from some of India's most prominent consumer and technology companies, reflecting Practo's intent to evolve from a healthcare marketplace into a full-stack consumer healthcare brand. Singh, who joined as global COO last year, previously served as COO of Unacademy and has held leadership positions at Airtel, OYO and Mondelez over a 16-year career. At Practo, he is leading go-to-market strategies and expansion into new geographies.

 

Biswas, who came on board in May 2025, was CMO and group loyalty head at Tata Digital, where he helped shape the Tata Neu ecosystem. Before that, he served as CMO at Flipkart, where he launched Flipkart Plus, and held CXO roles at Rebel Foods and Hindustan Unilever. His mandate at Practo spans global expansion, consumer engagement and category strategy.

 

George, who joined as VP of AI in February 2026, is leading artificial intelligence efforts across both consumer and healthcare provider platforms, deploying AI across smart search, symptom triage and real-time clinical feedback. Srijesh K, who joined the same month as chief product and technology officer, is overseeing the bridge between business goals and engineering execution.

 

The leadership build-out is not a top-deck overhaul. The company’s founding-era leaders remain entrenched in key operating roles. Sarang Sharma, who joined as head of product in 2015, continues to lead product innovation on the platform. Kshitij Bhotika, who has been with the company for over 13 years, heads the corporate business vertical, including the growing OPD insurance product. Pranay GN, who has been with the company since 2015 and is currently its head of people function, continues to lead HR and talent acquisition. Additionally, Satish Arunachalam, the company’s CFO, and Rowel Coelho, head of business and operations, have both been with Practo for over a decade, underscoring the depth of institutional continuity in the leadership team.

 

What makes the leadership build-out notable is the context in which it is unfolding. Practo, backed by investors such as Peak XV Partners, Z47, Tencent Holdings and Sofina, operates differently from its early years, having moved beyond a doctor discovery platform towards a broader role spanning care navigation, provider software and patient engagement. The company also appears to be recalibrating how it approaches scale. Rather than relying only on expansion, there is a growing emphasis on deepening engagement, improving patient journeys and increasing repeat usage within existing markets. Artificial intelligence is emerging as an important layer in this shift, particularly across discovery, triage and clinical feedback systems, though its impact at scale remains a work in progress, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

Practo is targeting an annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) of $1 billion by June 2026, with its expanding US operations expected to contribute between $250 million and $300 million.

 

The milestone marks a sharp jump from roughly $400 million GMV in the previous financial year, driven by momentum in its marketplace business and international expansion. The company expects this to support a potential IPO by year-end.