Snapdeal appoints Jason Kothari as FreeCharge CEO

Snapdeal  has appointed Jason Kothari as the CEO of its digital payments services firm FreeCharge. In addition, Kothari will also assume the role of chief strategy and investment officer at Snapdeal.

Snapdeal will also invest an additional $20 million in FreeCharge.

''As India moves towards a cashless and digital economy, we are certain that FreeCharge will play a pivotal role in the transition. We remain committed to the success and vision of FreeCharge. Jason is a strong, strategic and versatile business leader & entrepreneur who has already been the CEO of two successful companies. We are delighted to announce his leadership role at FreeCharge,'' Kunal Bahl, Co-founder & CEO, Snapdeal, said.

''The digital payments space in India is forecast to be over $1 trillion by 2025. I'm excited to join the talented team at FreeCharge at such a high-growth and dynamic time in the industry and expect FreeCharge to continue to play a key role in this digital payments revolution,'' said Kothari.

Most recently, Kothari was CEO of Softbank-backed online real estate firm Housing.com, where he led the turnaround of the company from a position of distress to a market leader in one-and-a-half years through organic and inorganic growth.

Under his stewardship, Housing.com changed its business strategy and plan, raised an additional round of funding from lead investor Softbank, and achieved key operating results, such as increasing revenue by 400 per cent.

Prior to joining Housing.com, Kothari was CEO and vice chairman of character-based entertainment company Valiant Entertainment, where he led the successful acquisition out of bankruptcy and turnaround of the company. Valiant raised $140 million from strategic investors and Chinese media conglomerate DMG Entertainment.