FACE elects PhonePe’s Hemant Gala and Navi’s Rajiv Naresh to Board

The Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), an RBI-recognised Self-Regulatory Organisation in the FinTech Sector (SRO-FT), has elected Hemant Gala, Whole-time Director and CEO, PhonePe Lending, and Rajiv Naresh, Managing Director and CEO, Navi Ltd, as Member Directors on its Board.
Gala brings over 24 years of leadership experience across banking, global payments, e-commerce and financial services. His previous experience includes executive roles at ICICI Bank, Visa, HSBC and Flipkart. As a member of PhonePe’s founding team, Gala has been involved in building its payments business since the launch of UPI and currently leads its lending business as CEO.

Naresh has been associated with Navi since 2019 and has held multiple leadership roles across the organisation. He currently serves as Managing Director and CEO of Navi Limited. Prior to joining Navi, he worked as a corporate lawyer at MD&T Partners, where he advised Indian and international companies on private equity, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, technology, media and telecommunications, and general corporate matters.

Ram Rastogi, Independent Director and Chair of the FACE Board, said: “We are pleased to welcome Hemant Gala and Rajiv Naresh to the FACE Board. Hemant brings extensive experience in building and scaling businesses across banking, payments, lending and other financial services, together with a strong understanding of responsible innovation and regulatory priorities. Rajiv brings a valuable combination of FinTech leadership, legal and governance expertise, and experience in building technology-led financial services business. Their complementary perspectives will strengthen the Board as FACE expands its membership and fulfils its responsibilities as SRO-FT.”

Hemant Gala, CEO, PhonePe Lending, said: "I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by the FACE members and grateful for this opportunity to serve on the Board. As digital financial services mature into a systemic pillar of India's economy, proactive governance becomes our strongest catalyst for long-term growth. FACE has been instrumental in translating regulatory intent into practical industry standards and strengthening the sector’s collective commitment to responsible growth. I look forward to contributing my experience towards furthering responsible and sustainable FinTech innovation in India.”

Rajiv Naresh, Managing Director and CEO, Navi Ltd, said: “As India’s digital financial ecosystem matures, the next phase of growth must be anchored in trust, transparency and responsible innovation. FACE has an important role to play in shaping this journey by helping emerging FinTechs scale responsibly, strengthening industry standards and serving as a constructive bridge between the industry and regulators. I look forward to working with the industry to further strengthen FACE as an effective self-regulatory institution and a trusted voice for responsible innovation. Together, we can build a financial ecosystem where innovation and consumer protection reinforce each other, while positioning Indian FinTech as a global benchmark for financial inclusion, trust and integrity.”

Following the appointments, the FACE Board comprises four Independent Directors and six Member Directors. The Independent Directors are Ram Rastogi, who also serves as Chair, Avtar Monga, Manoranjan Mishra and Srinath Sridharan.

The Member Directors are Hemant Manilal Gala, Whole-time Director and CEO, PhonePe Lending Services; Madhusudan Ekambaram, Co-founder and CEO, KreditBee; Nitin Gupta, Founder and CEO, Uni Cards; Rajiv Naresh, Managing Director and CEO, Navi Limited; Sanjay Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO, MoneyView; and Vineet Sukumar, Founder and Managing Director, Vivriti Capital.

FACE represents more than 400 FinTech companies and works on customer-centric financial services with a focus on safety, suitability and transparency. As an RBI-recognised SRO-FT, the association also works towards industry standards and responsible growth in the FinTech sector.