Parag Gupta

Chartered Accountant with 22+ years steering finance across high-growth startups and global MNCs — across FinTech, Telecom, EdTech, E-Commerce and Banking. Built and led finance functions from the ground up; raised capital, structured M&A, managed investor relations, and established profitable GCC/shared-services operations spanning India, the US, Europe and South-East Asia. Trusted board-level partner to founders and global leadership teams.

Chief Financial Officer at Kult E-Commerce (2025-10 – 2026-04)

• Appointed CFO to a $20M Series A–funded AI-powered beauty platform at a pivotal growth stage.
• Oversaw finance, investor relations, corporate development and business transformation.

Group CFO at CollegeDekho | Girnarsoft Education (2023-01 – 2025-10)

• Led all finance, M&A, investor relations and fund-raise activity for India's leading higher-education ecosystem.
• Raised ~ $30M in a 12-month window; concurrently structured and drove a follow-on round, close two M&A transactions
• Represented the company at the Board; led legal, taxation, audit and financial reporting.
• Integral to the leadership team shaping product, geography and inorganic growth strategy.

Chief Financial Officer at Housr (2021-07 – 2023-01)

• Finance and strategy lead for a high-growth co-living / student-housing platform.
• Drove fund-raising and investor relations; reported directly to co-founders and investors.
• Managed full-spectrum finance: controllership, FP&A, taxation, treasury, and compliance.

Group CFO – Vice President Finance at Shyam Spectra (2016-10 – 2020-10)

• Finance leader for five legal entities across telecom and adjacent businesses.
• Partnered with promoters and BOD on short- and long-term strategy and capital allocation.
• Led growth-capital fund-raise; built and managed bank and investor relationships.
• Managed a 35-member team with five direct reports.

India CFO – Director Finance at PayPal India (2015-03 – 2016-09)

• Finance leader for one of the world's largest digital-payments platforms as it activated its domestic-payments licence in India —market entry spanning P2P, P2M and cross-border transactions (CBT).
• Sole finance owner of India P&L; built the budgeting, forecasting and business-case framework from the ground up for a business that has since scaled to ₹3,400+ Cr in annual India revenue.
• Key Board-level stakeholder in India strategy — partnered the India CEO and APAC CFO on market-entry decisions, product-launch sequencing, licensing and regulatory positioning.
• Steered India finance through PayPal's landmark spin-off from eBay (July 2015) — navigating entity restructuring, intercompany unwind and establishment of standalone financial reporting.
• Designed transfer-pricing structures and tax positions supporting PayPal's dual domestic and CBT business lines under RBI and FEMA frameworks.

Group CFO | Head – Finance, Legal, HR & Admin | India Board Member at Nimbuzz BV (2011-09 – 2015-02)

• Built and led Finance, Legal, HR and Admin functions for a global internet/social media company.
• India Board Member; supported CEO on fund-raising and eventual exit worth USd 200 Mn and managed existing and prospective investor relations.
• Led investor reporting, business planning, controllership and regulatory compliance.

India CFO | Head of Finance | India Board Member at AT&T India (2008-02 – 2011-08)

• India CFO and Board Member for AT&T's India operations —overseeing a multi-hundred-crore India P&L spanning enterprise services, GCC operations and new business units.
• Partnered with India Chairman on annual business case, revenue outlook, strategic planning and capital allocation; primary finance interface to AT&T's global and APAC leadership.
• Drove licensing compliance across AT&T's India enterprise portfolio; led SOX/SOA compliance and AR management.
• Led financial planning, budgeting, controllership, taxation and legal functions; implemented robust variance-analysis and management-reporting disciplines aligned to global standards.
• Instrumental in expanding AT&T India's revenue base through structured business-case development for new enterprise and managed-services mandates.

AVP – Global Strategy & Service Delivery at Washington Mutual Bank (2004-08 – 2008-02)

• Managed 700+ offshore resources across India and the Philippines.
• Established and managed GCC operations: transitioned accounting back-office (70 FTE, 2 phases) and collections to India; led 3rd-phase transition of ~60 FTE.
• Project manager for offshore collections vendor transitions to Philippines — a landmark GCC build-out.
• Single point of contact for all offshored operations; drove MIS and performance metrics for SVP-level stakeholders.

Team Leader – EMEA AR Accounting & Reporting at Dell International Services (2003-07 – 2004-08)

• Managed and transitioned A/R reconciliation and cash-application for the entire EMEA region.
• Designed the reconciliation structure for EMEA and led a 25-member transition team.

Team Member – Latin America Bank Reconciliation & Reporting at American Express Financial Centre (2002-08 – 2003-07)

• Bank reconciliation and financial reporting for the Latin America region.

Chartered Accountant (CA) in Accounting – Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) (2002)

Bachelor of Commerce in Commerce – SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University (1996)