BANGALORE: Online retailer Flipkart has appointed Rajnish Baweja as its finance controller, the first in what is expected to be a series of moves aimed at preparing the Bangalore-based company for an eventual public listing of its shares . Baweja, a chartered accountant with 20 years of experience in finance, was regional chief financial officer (Anglophone) at Bharti Airtel International (Netherland) BV , Nairobi, Africa."E-commerce is one of the fastest growing industries in the country today and I'm delighted to be a part of this growth story," said Baweja who also made a mention of the transparent environment, high level of ownership and independence of thought offered by Flipkart to its executives.He will join the company's finance team that is in the process of being rebuilt, according to multiple people with knowledge of the changes. "They are build ing the (finance) team in preparation for the public offer for which they will start preparations soon," said a consultant, who works with several e-commerce firms and spoke on the condition of anonymity. People briefed on the matter expect the company to appoint a chief financial officer very soon. Flipkart did not comment on the rebuilding of the finance team or its expected IPO Mekin Maheshwari, chief people officer at Flipkart, said Baweja's wide experience, from launching Airtel's Punjab circle to leading the company's finance function in Africa, made him the right fit for Flipkart."We feel that this experience will make him a great leader for a fastpaced organisation like Flipkart," he said.Baweja, 45, is the latest in a series of senior hires the Bangalore-based ecommerce company has made in recent months. In March Ashish Vikram joined the company as its vice president of engineering, he moved from Ya hoo. Prasad Nelluli from McAfee Software India and Surinder Bhagat from Freescale Semiconductors were hired as senior directors for human resources."Ecommerce is the sunrise sector and employees are being offered ESOPs, so there is money to be made,"said Rachna Nath, retail and consumer leader at advisory firm PwC India.Maheshwari did not provide details of the compensation. However, he said that all senior managers are provided employee stock options (ESOPs). Consultants working with the company said Flipkart is a generous paymaster especially at senior levels. "At the director level executives can get upwards of Rs 55 lakh, while at the vice president level they could get over Rs 90 lakh,"said a consultant, who did not wish to be named.Flipkart and other ecommerce firms are on a hiring spree. Flipkart is set to more than double its staff base to 25,000 this year. Competitor Snapdeal too is doubling its headcount to 2,600.