The digital entertainment company Pocket Aces has elevated Kunal Lakhara to a new position of Chief Financial Officer. Prior to this, Kunal was the VP, Finance and Operations and a key member of the executive leadership team at the company.
Kunal joined Pocket Aces in 2017 as one of the earliest leaders in the management team, and has helped spearhead tremendous growth at the company, including USD 75 million raised in equity and debt across Pocket Aces and the company’s gaming arm Loco, and the successful spin off of Loco into a separate entity in July 2021. Kunal leads a team of 10 that manages investor reporting, cash flow management, bank relationships, lawyer relationships, audit, production finance, brand copyrights, IP rights, and legal matters at Pocket Aces.
Kunal has a rich experience of over 16 years in the field of finance and accounts, with overall 8 years spent building the finance domain in well regarded startups such as Citrus Pay, which was acquired by Naspers in 2017. Kunal started his career with Citigroup in its Investment banking team helping clients raise money through equity and debt instruments. Kunal is a Chartered Accountant and graduated with a first class degree in finance from Mumbai University.
Commenting on his new role, Lakhara shared “I am humbled and thrilled to take up the new role as the Chief Financial Officer of Pocket Aces. It has been a fantastic journey so far working with Aditi on the company’s mission of solving boredom. It is a proud moment to see how the company has grown from length to length in these years and I’m truly thankful for all the support and hard work of my team members. I look forward to making significant contributions to further scale Pocket Aces.”
Commenting on the appointment, Aditi Srivastava, Co-Founder & CEO, Pocket Aces, said, “Kunal has been a trusted partner and friend, instrumental to our growth from an early stage startup in 2017 to now becoming the biggest new age media player in India. His function is like an army – if his team maintains the right checks and balances, the rest of us can sleep peacefully at night. With Kunal in this new role as our Chief Financial Officer, our focus is to demonstrate a hugely profitable new age media company that benefits all stakeholders including audiences, talent, employees, clients, and investors.”
