Telecom Lead India: Comviva veteran Milind Pathak has joined rival One97 Communications.
Milind Pathak, as global head of new business of Mobile Internet company One97, will look after new businesses.
Recently, Tech Mahindra Group picked up 51 percent stake in Comviva. The acquisition is strategically fit for Tech Mahindra which is looking at enhancing its VAS portfolio.
VAS players such as OnMobile, Tech Mahindra and Comviva are growing by acquiring assets abroad.
One97, through its venture fund company, has made investments in 12 companies in the last 24 months.
The new appointment will bring in fresh strategies to grow faster in mobile VAS space.
One97 will be looking at emerging countries for additional growth. One of the main targets will be Africa. One97 will utilize Milind experience in consumer practice to expand in Africa. Milind’s experience with Buongiorno will be a special benefit to One97 when it looks for new businesses and geographies.
Besides Comviva Technologies, Milind, who has over 18 years of experience, worked with Buongiorno Hong Kong and Mitsui.
Most recently, Milind Pathak worked as vice president – Asia Market Unit at Comviva where he led and managed sales, business development and strategy.
Before Comviva, Milind headed Buongiorno Hong Kong as its Co-CEO and Country Manager, where he set up the company from scratch in India and built it as a respectable VAS company riding on the back of many innovative solutions.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, managing director of One97, said, “Milind is an exceptional addition to the One97 leadership team. I am a great admirer of his enthusiasm and hands-on leadership. With his deep understanding of the direct to consumer business and mobile, media convergence, I believe Milind will be able to create a great demand for our offerings in the global markets.”
“We have been toying with the idea of working together for a long time. I am excited to join a solid team and look forward to building one of the largest mobile Internet Companies in India and across emerging markets. The future holds promise for the mobile payments and mobile Internet industries and we will work on attaining leadership in these domains, globally,” said Milind Pathak.
One97 One97 offers consumer commerce and Payment services under the Paytm brand. The company’s investors include Intel Capital, SAIF Partners, SAP Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank.
