Aparna Ballakur is a global executive with a vast leadership background in strategic and operational human resources. With extensive experience in scaling and transforming high-growth publicly traded and start-up hi-tech companies, she has developed an expertise in emerging markets across Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and India. Ballakur studied at both Cornell University and the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, where she honed her skills to become a successful chief people officer.

Before joining Sumup, Ballakur founded Watsimp and served as Naspers Limited's Global Vice President Human Resources, Payu. She has also worked as Chief People Officer at Flipkart and Vice President of Human Resources, India at Yahoo!. Her experience in the tech industry includes working as the Director of Human Resources - India and China at Adobe, and as a Human Resources Business Partner at Intel Security. Throughout her career, Ballakur has become an expert in developing and implementing effective HR strategies for global organizations.