After 17 years at American Express, Chug was looking for a challenge to upset his structured life, and he found it in Harshil Mathur's Razorpay
Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts: Arpit Chug, CFO, Razorpay
It was an exciting start to Arpit Chug’s professional life in 2000. After completing his graduation from Shri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi University, he did his MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad and then joined foreign equity brokerage company CLSA in Mumbai. The role was thrilling. While in the first year Chug tracked FMCG and pharmaceutical stocks, the next year, he was part of the team looking into Nasdaq listings for some companies. The ample exposure to the banking side of the business came as a bonus for the Delhi lad who was enjoying the stirring life of an investment banker. “I was even part of the first few American Depository Receipts (ADRs),” he recounts.
The adventure continued. In August 2002, Chug joined American Express and relocated to the US. The job was to visit different offices of the American biggie and work on projects of all kinds. Over the next few years, Chug’s involvement in the financial aspects of the business deepened. “I was enjoying such roles,” he says. In 2010, he became the CFO of the travel business.
After three years, he moved to India, and apart from being CFO of the India business, Chug was heading treasury for the Asia-Pacific, which meant 14 markets that American Express was present in. ‘A large business, billion dollar plus revenues and significantly large P&L’ is how Chug sums up the high point of his long tenure. “Amex was great for me,” he says. “I got to do a lot of things in a very structured environment.”
Then came a sharp turn in 2019, when Chug discovered something startling. His ‘structured’ way of life had robbed the excitement off his role. Call it one of the flip sides of having an extra-long innings at huge multinational corporates, it makes you feel jaded as processes become mundane, and challenges are hard to find. Chug started yearning for a life where he would be constantly challenged, and where he could get his edge back.
Meanwhile, Harshil Mathur was looking for someone who had a strategic vision for his fintech startup Razorpay, which had its biggest fundraise of $75 million in 2019, and was fast galloping towards unicorn valuation—privately-held companies valued at $1 billion or more. The co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) wanted a multi-dimensional CFO. “We were not limiting the search to whether the candidate belonged to a CA background or not,” he recounts.
(This story appears in the 25 February, 2022 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)