Audio entertainment platform Pocket FM is set to bring in a new chief financial officer, tapping a senior investment banker with extensive IPO experience to steer the company through its next phase of growth .
Abhilash Padival, Director of India Investment Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, has resigned from his position and will join Pocket FM as its CFO, according to sources familiar with the development .
IPO experience from Zomato, Swiggy, Nykaa
During his seven-year tenure at BofA-ML, Padival worked on several high-profile initial public offerings for major Indian internet companies, including Zomato, Swiggy, Nykaa, and Delhivery . This experience is expected to prove crucial for Pocket FM as it prepares for its own public market debut.
Based in Bengaluru, Padival will oversee the company’s global financial strategy, including large-scale capital allocation, international financial operations, and cross-border monetisation initiatives . He brings more than two decades of experience across investment banking, corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and technology-driven business transformation .
Before his investment banking leadership role, Padival served as Investment Director at Quess Corp Limited, where he managed significant institutional fundraising efforts and executed major acquisition transactions, including Tata Business Support Services and Monster’s business operations across India and Southeast Asia .
Leadership transition amid IPO preparations
Padival’s appointment comes after reports that Anurag Sharma stepped down from his position as Pocket FM’s CFO, ending a five-year term with the company . The audio platform recently elevated Lalit Gangwar to the role of chief operating officer as part of its leadership strengthening exercise .
The leadership changes come at a critical juncture for Pocket FM. The company is currently engaging with private market investors for a fresh fundraising round and aims to go public in the coming year or so .
Rapid growth and global ambitions
Pocket FM has demonstrated strong growth momentum in recent months. According to a social media update from co-founder Rohan Nayak, the platform has crossed **$400 million in annualised revenue run rate (ARR)**, doubling over the past 12 months . The growth has been driven largely by AI-led content creation, with the company taking six years to reach its first $200 million in ARR and just one year to add the next $200 million .
The platform, which competes with players such as Kuku FM, Eloelo, and ShareChat across various verticals, has raised close to $200 million to date, according to private markets data provider Tracxn . Its investors include The StepStone Group, Lightspeed, Tanglin Venture Partners, and South Korea’s Naver, among others .
Padival’s expertise in transaction structuring, institutional finance, and public market transactions is expected to play an important role in Pocket FM’s future fundraising and IPO journey, positioning the company for aggressive global expansion in the competitive digital audio entertainment s
