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Ascenda, a leading rewards infrastructure company, has made a significant addition to its executive team. On July 19, 2023, the company announced that Gautam Thapar will be joining their ranks as the new Chief Product Officer (CPO). This strategic appointment comes at a time when Ascenda is experiencing increased demand from financial services brands worldwide for its best-in-class rewards infrastructure.
A Wealth of Experience
Thapar brings with him nearly two decades of technology and product leadership experience. He has held key positions at industry giants such as Microsoft, Meta (formerly Facebook), and Amazon.
During his tenure at Microsoft, he was instrumental in incubating their low-code apps platform, PowerApps. Under his leadership, PowerApps grew to have millions of active monthly users and generated revenue exceeding $2B.
At Meta, he developed a suite of products for the Ads & Analytics team that aided B2B partners in better managing Risk and Fraud. His most recent role was VP Enterprise and GTM at Rapid (formerly Rapid API), where he launched the company’s enterprise business and product-led acquisition/growth strategy.
A New Chapter at Ascenda
Thapar expressed his excitement about joining Ascenda:
“Ascenda brings together the best-in-business rewards professionals, a robust and scalable technology platform, and a reputation for launching industry-changing products.”
In his new role as CPO at Ascenda, Thapar will lead the product function to drive best-in-class culture and execution across product management, growth, delivery, and design.
The Impact on Ascenda’s Mission
With Thapar’s appointment to CPO at Ascenda comes an increased ability for the company to deliver on its mission: accelerating the growth of financial services. The addition of Thapar to its leadership team will undoubtedly enhance Ascenda’s capability in offering innovative premium rewards programs that drive customer acquisition, engagement cross-selling, and retention.
Ascenda’s easy-to-deploy rewards infrastructure has been adopted by major financial services brands like Brex, HSBC, Virgin Money, American Express, Capital One, as well as disruptive fintechs across the globe. With this strategic appointment of Gautam Thapar as CPO – an individual with proven expertise in building and scaling business products at startups and global technology companies – Ascenda is set to further solidify its position in the market.
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