Scooter-rental platform Bounce names former Groupon exec as senior vice-president

Scooter- and bicycle-rental platform Bounce, based in Bengaluru, said it has roped in Bharath Devanathan as senior vice-president of growth and electric vehicles.

An MBA holder from INSEAD, Devanathan had previously served as the chief customer officer at Bengaluru-based Big Data-based hiring startup Belong.co.

Before that, he served as Groupon Inc.'s operations chief for the Asia-Pacific emerging markets’ region. Devanathan has also previously worked at Yahoo! and Booz & Company. He has also invested in early-stage technology startups, including Belong.co, online marketplace for refurbished products Overcart and phone credit recharge platform Sepulsa.

The hiring development comes after TechCircle reported in December that Bounce owner WickedRide Adventure Services Pvt. Ltd is in advanced stages of talks to raise $50 million in a fresh funding round from investors including Russian billionaire Yuri Milner.

WickedRide was started in 2014 by Vivekananda Hallekere, Varun Agni and Anil G. The company initially offered premium motorbikes rentals before focusing on scooter-sharing service Bounce.

Last November, Bounce acquired the assets of the Indian arm of Chinese cycle-sharing venture Ofo, marking its entry into the bicycle-sharing space.