IAMAI appoints FreeCharge's Kunal Shah as new chairman

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has named Kunal Shah, co-founder and CEO of FreeCharge, as its new chairman. The industry group also named Vishwas Patel, CEO of CCAvenue, its new treasurer.

Shah succeeds former LinkedIn India managing director Nishant Rao, who recently joined Tiger Global Management-backed Freshdesk as chief operating officer.

Vinodh Bhat, co-founder, president and chief strategy officer at Saavn, remains the vice chairman of the association, IAMAI said in a statement.

Shah, an MBA dropout from NMIMS, co-founded FreeCharge along with Sandeep Tandon in August 2010. In April 2015, FreeCharge was acquired  by online marketplace Snapdeal. After the acquisition, FreeCharge continues to be an independent entity under Shah's leadership.

FreeCharge is one of India's top recharge platforms allowing users to pay their mobile, DTH and other utility bills across most major operators.

Patel is the founder and CEO of Avenues India Pvt Ltd, an e-commerce service provider. The company's CCAvenue offering was launched in September 2001.

Bhat is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Saavn (South Asian Audio Video Network), a US-based Indian digital music service.