Pathao, Bangladesh’s largest digital services platform and market leader in ride-sharing, food delivery and e-commerce logistics, has appointed Fahim Ahmed as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. Fahim, who joined Pathao in early 2018 as the Chief Financial Officer, replaces co-founder Hussain Elius.
Since mid-2020, Fahim, as the President of Pathao, has been overseeing the day-to-day operations and executing the company’s strategy to address the accelerating demand for digital services during the pandemic. In the past year, Pathao’s key operating and financial metrics hit record highs: it now has more than 8 million users, 300,000 drivers and delivery agents, 30,000 merchants and 10,000 restaurants.
“We are a company that has improved the lives of millions of consumers, small businesses and daily earners. The opportunity ahead for us is exciting, but to capture it, we must move fast, focus and transform. I couldn’t be more thrilled yet humbled to have been chosen to lead the company and our amazing team,” Fahim said. “Pathao is building the next-generation platform for digital commerce — powered by fintech. This will allow consumers to access services and spend responsibly, empower merchants to grow and commerce to thrive, and create earnings opportunities for the rising middle class,” he added.
Elius, who will remain a member of the Board of Directors and assume a new role as Senior Advisor, said: “Founding Pathao has been the most exhilarating experience of my life. After six years, the time is right for a new leader, and there is no better person to lead the company than Fahim. I have had the honour of working with the most talented, innovative and entrepreneurial team, and I have no doubt that their passion and creativity will only grow under Fahim’s leadership.” Fahim graduated from Middlebury College in the US and brings more than 18 years of experience in finance, investment and operations in Bangladesh, South Asia and the US.
Prior to Pathao, he was a managing director at SEAF, a global emerging market investment firm, where he co-founded and managed the first mid-market investment fund in Bangladesh. He has also worked as an investor at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and American Securities, and as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in New York.
