Govind Rajan appointed as CEO of FreeCharge, Kunal Shah elevated as chairman

Rajan, who joined FreeCharge in August 2015, is currently the COO at the company.

FreeCharge, a digital payment platform, recently announced the appointment of Govind Rajan as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. Rajan, who joined FreeCharge in August 2015, is currently its chief operating officer (COO).

In a related move, Kunal Shah, currently the chief executive officer of FreeCharge, will now be the chairman of the company. Shah is the co-founder of the company, along with Sandeep Tandon.

In April 2015, Snapdeal had acquired FreeCharge, and within five months of the acquisition, in October 2015, FreeCharge launched its wallet.

Commenting on the elevation of Govind Rajan, Shah says, "(Govind) Rajan has led with great insight and initiative. His understanding of the payments industry and its future trends is equally matched by his discipline and ability to get things done. In him, we have an exceptional leader, who will lead FreeCharge to become the No.1 player in the payments ecosystem in the country."

Reacting to the appointment, Rajan says, "FreeCharge is built on a robust foundation of cutting-edge technology, superlative customer experience, and a deep understanding of consumer needs. Shah has built a great tech team and an iconic brand. It is a privilege to take over the baton from him. We are fortunate to have his guidance as the chairman and mentor-in-chief. I am excited to carry forward our mission to build FreeCharge as India's digital payments OS".

Rajan was earlier chief marketing officer (B2C) at Bharti Airtel, and concurrently also served as the chief executive officer for Airtel Money. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Rajan spent the first 15 years of his professional life at Hindustan Unilever, where he served in various marketing and leadership roles. His experience of nearly 20 years has seen him drive exceptional results across building market share, driving revenue, and building marketing capabilities.