Exclusive: Paytm CHRO Swati Rustagi Quits, Likely To Join Adobe

SUMMARY

Swati Rustagi’s departure comes over a year after she joined the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led startup

She is likely to join design software company Adobe, sources said

Following RBI’s curbs on Paytm Payments Bank, Paytm has seen a number of top-level exits, including that of president and COO Bhavesh Gupta

In yet another top-level exit at Paytm, chief human resources officer (CHRO) Swati Rustagi is leaving the fintech giant, sources told Inc42.

Rustagi recently resigned from the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led startup after a stint of over a year and is currently serving her notice period. Prior to joining Paytm, she worked with Amazon, Max Healthcare, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, among others.

Rustagi is likely to join US-based design software company Adobe, the sources said.

Query emails sent to Paytm and Adobe didn’t elicit any response till the time of publishing this story. Rustagi didn’t respond to our messages and calls.

The development comes at a time when Paytm is going through a period of upheaval after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ordered a number of curbs on Paytm Payments Bank, bringing the payments bank’s business to a halt.

Consequently, besides the disruption in its lending business, Paytm has seen a number of key leaders quit the startup.

Earlier this month, Inc42 reported that Ajay Vikram Singh, Bipin Kaul, and Sandeepan Kashyap, who were chief business officers handling three different verticals, left the company.

These departures followed the resignation of president and COO Bhavesh Gupta. In addition, the company named new CEOs for its Paytm Money business, and also saw the exit of other business heads.

“We are committed to ensuring a sustained growth across key business verticals as we are going through a restructuring initiative that signals a reinvigorated approach under Paytm’s CEO. These changes are part of our approach to strengthen Paytm’s next line of leaders,” a spokesperson for Paytm said then.

Amid these exits, there have been some elevations as well. On Wednesday, Paytm Insider elevated its business head for live entertainment (intellectual properties and partnerships) segment, Varun Khare, to the position of chief operating officer (COO).

Last week, Paytm reported over 225% widening of its net loss to INR 550.5 Cr in Q4 FY24 from INR 167.5 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Revenue from operations declined 2.9% YoY to INR 2,267.1 Cr from INR 2,334 Cr in the same period last year.

The startup’s payments business revenue grew by 7% YoY to INR 1,568 Cr in the fourth quarter, whereas financial services revenue dropped by 36% to INR 304 Cr YoY.