A top executive at Indian fintech firm Pine Labs, which last week filed draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its initial public offering (IPO), has left the company to start his own venture, two people familiar with the matter told The Head and Tale.

Mayur Mulani, who was senior executive vice president (EVP) and chief growth officer at Pine Labs, left the fintech company last month ahead of the company's IPO, the people cited above said.

Mulani had joined Pine Labs in November 2020 as Business Head-Sales and Distribution and was promoted as Senior EVP and Chief Growth Officer in 2023. At the payments company, he led its flagship 'Brand EMI' or affordability business.

Speaking to The Head and Tale, Mulani confirmed that May 20 was his last working day at Pine Labs. He has now exited to launch his own startup.

“I was managing what many consider the crown jewel of Pine Labs – the affordability business, and the growth. We saw a strong 40-45% CAGR over the last four years,” he said. “Growth-wise, everything was great.”

Mulani added that the decision to turn entrepreneur had been in the works for a while. “I had been thinking about this journey for a long time. Both Amrish (Rau) and Kush (Mehra) played a key role in guiding me. I found the right product, the right team, and that gave me the confidence to make the move.”

Mulani has already launched his own venture called TOSS.

Prior to joining Pine Labs, Mulani worked at India's major private sector lender HDFC Bank for over a decade. Previously, he worked at Standard Chartered Investments & Loans India, and at GE Money Financial Services and GE Capital.

Last week, Pine Labs filed the DRHP for its IPO, which comprises of fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,600 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 14.78 crore shares by existing backers including Peak XV Partners, PayPal and Mastercard.

The DRHP revealed that Pine Labs chief financial officer Marc Kay Mathenz has also resigned from the company. Last year, Pine Labs’ chief revenue officer Navnit Nakra also resigned.

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Editing by Joseph Rai