Manoj Varghese, former Google HR Director for Japan and Asia-Pacific (JAPAC) and Meta (Facebook) Director of User Operations, has officially joined the executive team of the Philippines’ first neobank Tonik. Varghese will lead the continued expansion and cultural integration of one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing and sought-after fintech firms as Chief People Officer at the transformational digital bank.
Greg Krasnov, Founder & CEO, Tonik, said, “As a veteran in leading cross-cultural teams in the JAPAC region and coupled with his extensive experience in the tech industry, Manoj brings invaluable expertise in further growing our workforce and footprint across our multiple hubs. His mission includes working with our diverse teams as we ramp up and solidify our efforts in accelerating financial inclusion in the Philippines.”
Varghese managed the establishment and growth of Google’s JAPAC headquarters in Singapore during his tenure there, notably through hiring and onboarding the regional leadership team. This allowed Google to expand its Engineering, Sales, and Operations teams not only in Singapore, but across Asia Pacific.
Similarly, Varghese also led and executed notable wins for Meta (Facebook) during his three-year stint at the tech giant—building and managing the community operations team and working closely with global product, engineering, and policy team members to support over 1 billion Facebook users.
Varghese recently completed the Sloan Fellow Programme at the London Business School.
Varghese is pleased to join the enthusiastic team at Tonik and assist enhance their mission of transforming the banking landscape in Southeast Asia, having developed credible strategic teams, increased company presence across numerous countries, and worked in and managed multi-cultural situations.
Varghese explained, “People are the heartbeat of any business, as all workforces play a critical role in moving the needle towards growth. As digital banking becomes a necessity now more than ever, it’s crucial for us to build a robust roster of leaders ready to serve the Filipino community. With this commitment, I’m excited to support Tonik’s world-class management team in driving financial inclusion in the Philippines and several more emerging markets into greater heights.”
Tonik is supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and deposits are insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC). Its unique cloud-based solution is powered by global financial technology leaders such as Mastercard, Amazon Web Services, and Finastra.
