Former FreeCharge CEO Alok Goel joins VC firm SAIF Partners

Venture capital and growth equity investment firm SAIF Partners has appointed Alok Goel, former chief executive officer of online recharge platform FreeCharge, as managing director, according to a press release.

In this role, Goel will be looking into early stage investments.

"He brings a wealth of experience in business strategy, product, marketing, operations as well as P&L management. Having built and scaled successful internet companies, his experience will be vital to our firm," said Ravi Adusumalli, managing partner, SAIF Partners.

His move follows the recent acquisition of FreeCharge by Snapdeal.

Prior to joining FreeCharge, Goel was COO of redBus.in. He had quit the bus ticketing firm soon after Naspers acquired the startup. Before joining redBus, he worked at Google for five years in various roles including product management of Google Display Network.

At Google, Goel also led search and mobile products in India, besides serving as product manager for Search and Geo Local, India. He also worked with the companies like Adobe Systems and HCL Technologies.

Goel did his MBA in strategic marketing & finance from Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and completed his graduation in technology and engineering from Delhi College of Engineering.

He has also invested in a few startups in his personal capacity before joining SAIF Partners. These include interior decor site Intruo.com and food-tech startup co-founded by his wife Tapcibo (rebranded as Dazo).

The multi-stage global investment firm SAIF Partners, which has $4 billion under management and invests in India through its local fund, has backed a number of marquee Indian tech firms, including MakeMyTrip and Just Dial. It mainly invests in consumer products and services, technology, media, education, telecom, financial services, healthcare, travel and tourism and manufacturing sectors.

In March, the VC firm raised $350 million for its new India-focused fund.