Two top executives quit as Grab rejigs key unit to stem losses

Two top executives at Grab's fintech business have quit, adding to other senior departures in recent months, as the South-east Asian ride-hailing and delivery firm rejigs the key unit at the loss-making group, two sources said.

Mr Chris Yeo, who heads Grab's payments and rewards business and has been with the company for nearly six years, is leaving along with Mr Jeffrey Goh, who leads the payments gateway business, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Both Mr Yeo and Mr Goh worked at Grab Financial Group's GrabFin unit.

The latest executive departures come as Grab's losses rose to US$3.6 billion (S$5 billion) last year from US$2.7 billion a year earlier, while revenue rose 44 per cent, with investors focusing on how the firm plans to stem losses.

Grab narrowed its loss in the first quarter.

Since listing on Nasdaq in December after a record US$40 billion merger with a blank-cheque firm, Grab has seen its shares shed three-quarters of their value against a backdrop of plunging tech stocks and its continued losses.

"Many business groups within GrabFin have been put on notice with significant performance metrics," said one of the sources.

"There's an intense focus on getting to profitability."

Mr Yeo and Mr Goh, managing directors at Grab, are serving their notice periods, said the sources, declining to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The departures at GrabFin come a month after Grab's head of lending, former banker Ankur Mehrotra, who played a key role in the fintech unit's expansion, quit after a six-year stint.

This year, one of Grab's senior tech executives also departed to lead a cryptocurrency gaming firm, while Grab's head of insurance and wealth left to form a start-up.

In an e-mail response to Reuters, Grab said it was focused on expanding its regional fintech ecosystem and saw significant opportunity in South-east Asia across all its businesses.

Grab last week forecast a rebound in its mainstay ride-share and food delivery businesses as South-east Asian economies recover from a pandemic-led slump.

Mr Anthony Tan, Grab's co-founder and chief executive, told analysts that Grab was driving towards profitability through disciplined cost management.

GrabFin was streamlining its regional and country teams with a view to focusing on lucrative areas, the sources said.

One of the sources said the firm was seeking to cut losses in the many areas GrabFin operated in.

Grab said in response to The Straits Times: "Grab has been built on the contributions of many Grabbers over the years and we wish them well when they move on to pursue new opportunities. We also thank them for building a strong bench over the years."

The company added that it continues to be focused on the expansion of its regional fintech ecosystem and sees significant opportunity in South-east Asia across the payments, lending, insurance, and banking businesses.

REUTERS