Former Amazon India executive joins Pine Labs as HR head

By Shubhobrota Dev Roy

  • 13 May 2022
Credit: 123RF.com

Initial public offering (IPO)-bound payment solutions provider, Pine Labs Friday said it has onboarded former Amazon India executive Vijayalakshmi Swaminathan as chief people officer.

She will replace Anu Mathew, who has now moved to his new role to head the Learning and Development department at Pine Labs.  

At Amazon, Swaminathan was heading the Human Resource vertical. Prior to that, she was with HR consulting firm, CoCoon Consulting, as one of its founding partners. 

Swaminathan has also worked with FMCG major Unilever and played an important role in scaling the company’s employer brand.

“Our people are our strength. A high-performance workforce will accelerate the progress we have made in recent years. I am so thrilled to welcome Vijayalakshmi Swaminathan as our next HR head. I am sure her immense experience will add that spark into our HR function and help us attain newer heights in the future,” said B Amrish Rau, CEO, Pine Labs.

“Ably led by exemplary leaders, the Pine Labs story is an incredible one of a truly transformative and future-focused company that responsibly drives sustainable growth. I look forward to building on the strong foundation laid by this team to create a world-class, employee-first organization,” said Swaminathan.  

She has completed her post-graduation in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations from XLRI in Jamshedpur. 

Pine Labs was launched in 1998 by Rajul Garg but he left the firm in 2003 and was taken over by the current chairman Lokvir Kapoor.     

Pine Labs is used by merchants from diverse sectors—electronics, food and beverage, fashion, pharmacy, telecom and airlines, all largely offline players. The company is also planning to ramp up its online platform, both by organic and inorganic means.  

Last month, Pine Labs picked up a majority stake in payment solutions provider Mosambee, for an undisclosed amount.

In February, the firm raised $150 million (about Rs 1,120 crore) in a fresh round of funding from Alpha Wave Ventures.