PayU names ex-Snapdeal exec Moondhra as global CFO

Naspers-owned online payments and mobile wallet company PayU, which has operations in 18 countries, has appointed Snapdeal's former finance head Aakash Moondhra as its global CFO.

In addition to managing finance operations at PayU global, Moondhra will also play a role in shaping Naspers' fin-tech business, as per a press statement.

Moondhra, who quit as Snapdeal CFO in April this year after a three-year stint, was also responsible for legal, corporate affairs, internal controls and risk at the online marketplace.

A chartered accountant with an MBA from Southern Methodist University (the US), Moondhra had previously worked at Baring Private Equity Partners (India), Bharti Retail, Bharti Airtel and AT&T. He also serves as an independent director on the board of V-Mart Retail Ltd.

"As a finance professional I'm thrilled to be a part of one of the largest consumer internet company globally and hope to make significant contributions in further fortifying its financial operations & shaping the global strategy & execution of Naspers' payments business," he said.

In addition to India, PayU operates in countries across Latin America, Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.  PayU claims to have more than 100,000 merchants on its network.

PayU India was started in 2011 as a unit of Gurgaon-based Ibibo Group, which is controlled by Naspers Group.

In February 2014, Ibibo hived off PayU India to Naspers for a stake in the global payments business of the Cape Town-based conglomerate. In India, PayU competes with the likes of Paytm, Mobikwik and others.

PayU has been strengthening its upper deck to expand leadership bandwidth and consolidate presence in global markets. Recently, McKinsey & Co's Raj Kamal joined the Gurgaon-based company as vice president of strategy while Sanjeev Sandhu has been appointed as business head of PayU Global's technology solutions business. It had also appointed Prabhakar Tiwari as chief marketing officer.

Founded in 1915 and headquartered in Cape Town, Naspers, together with its subsidiaries, is a worldwide provider of e-commerce, pay-television and print media services. In addition to Ibibo, Naspers also has positions in Indian firms OLX and Flipkart.