Excl: redBus appoints former GE executive Bharat Singh as CFO

Bangalore-based redBus, a bus ticketing site owned by Pilani Soft Labs, has appointed Bharat Singh as its chief financial officer. Singh, based in Bangalore,  reports to redBus founder Phanindra Sama.

His mandate will involve looking after all aspects of finance and corporate governance.

Till recently, he was with GE Capital as CFO for SBI - GE Credit cards joint venture (JV), institutionalising the financial framework and framing the future strategy.

Confirming the news to Techcircle.in, Phanindra Sama, founder, redBus said, "With 12-13 years of rich experience from GE Capital,  he is expected to help us with all the finances around the company."

"The segment we cater to is very fragmented. Every passing day it is getting multifold, with so many transactions happening. So we need a person with the pedigree, who can put across a strong process for growth," he said.

Last month, Techcircle had reported that redBus is looking for acquisitions and is in talks with a few offline bus ticketing companies in Singapore and Malaysia, to expand its geographical footprint.

Singh's hiring is expected to aid the company's acquisition plans as well.

A  B Com graduate from Delhi University, Singh is also a CA from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and CPA from American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Previously, he has worked with KPMG and GE in various capacities.

Talking about his own appointment, Singh said, "redBus has grown multi-fold since its inception. My job is to set things in control and process.  I will also partner with the CEO to give a bouncing ground to develop a strategy that will lead to new ways to growth". Singh said he will also be responsible to scale up the team quality wise and structure wise.When asked about joining a startup like redBus from a multinational company like GE, he said, "It is way more challenging to work here. I want to feel the real local market and be a part of India's growth story."

Many startups have been roping in CFOs from larger organisations recently. A month back, e-commerce firm Jasper Infotech Pvt Ltd, which runs the daily deals and now horizontal e-com site Snapdeal.com, appointed ex-Bharti Retail executive Aakash Moondhra as CFO. In December, 2011, Flipkart brought on board former Sapient Corporation executive Karandeep Singh as CFO. (Edited by Prem Udayabhanu)