Vijay Shekhar Sharma to continue as Paytm's MD & CEO for another 5 yrs

Around 99.67% shareholders voted in favour of his reappointment

Vijay Shekhar Sharma has been reappointed managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of One 97 Communication (OCL) — the parent company of digital payments app Paytm. Around 99.67 per cent of shareholders voted in favour of Sharma’s reappointment.

Sharma will continue to serve as MD and CEO of the company for another five years, Paytm had said in a statement. In May 2022, OCL’s board of directors had approved the reappointment of Sharma.

OCL held its 22nd annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday, the first as a public listed company.

The meeting hogged the limelight after three domestic proxy firms opposed the proposal to reappoint Sharma as MD & CEO of the company.

The advisory firms — Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS), Stakeholders Empowerment Services (SES) and InGovern Research Services — had also opposed the remuneration decided for the position.

The resolution for Sharma’s remuneration received 94.48 per cent votes in its favour.

His remuneration is fixed for the next three years without any annual increment, unlike the policy for other employees of the company.

“The resounding votes of almost 100 per cent in favour of his reappointment reflect investor faith in the company’s leadership. It also shows that they remain confident about the company’s growth and profitability target,” the company said.

During the AGM, the shareholders also passed a resolution for the appointment of Madhur Deora as president and group chief financial officer (group CFO). The shareholders have also agreed to retain Ravi Chandra Adusumalli as director.

A Paytm spokesperson said, “We are thankful to our shareholders for their unwavering support and faith in our leadership. We remain committed to building a large, profitable company and creating long-term shareholder value while driving financial inclusion in the country.”

He added, “Under Sharma’s leadership, Paytm has established itself as the pioneer in QR payments. It is the market leader in digital payments, constantly innovating in payments and digital financial services. In a letter to the shareholders in April, Sharma had said Paytm should be at Ebitda breakeven in the next six quarters.”
 

The company’s business momentum, scale of monetisation and operating leverage prompted him to say so.