After Board Exits, BYJU’S Appoints Mohandas Pai And Rajnish Kumar To Advisory Council

Nearly a month after the high-profile exit of multiple board members, edtech decacorn BYJU’S has now appointed former SBI Chairperson Rajnish Kumar and ace investor TV Mohandas Pai as members of its newly-constituted advisory council. 

As per the company, the council will guide the board and chief executive officer (CEO) Byju Raveendran in matters related to the company to bolster corporate governance guardrails. The move will also enable the company to enhance its financial governance mechanisms and drive sustainable growth and strategic decision-making. 

Curiously, the new appointments have been made to the advisory council, and not the board. 

BYJU’S board currently includes only members from the Raveendran family – Byju Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokunath and brother Riju Raveendran.

“… Their (Kumar and Pai) unparalleled leadership experience and deep understanding of the finance and technology domains will greatly enrich our strategic initiatives and strengthen our governance. With their invaluable insights and expertise, we are confident that we will continue to have a transformative impact on the education landscape,” said cofounders Gokulnath and Raveendran in a joint statement. 

Commenting on the appointment, Pai said, “… As part of the advisory council, I look forward to advising the leadership in evolving the systems of governance and financial reporting, as well as to grow an organisational structure that can serve as a resilient foundation for the future of the company.”

It is pertinent to note that Rajnish Kumar previously served as the chairperson of the State Bank of India, and is currently the chairman of fintech unicorn BharatPe. On the other hand, Pai was former chief finance officer (CFO) of IT giant Infosys and currently leads private equity (PE) firm Aarin Capital. 

The development comes nearly a month after three board members of edtech major – Peak XV Partners’ GV Ravishankar, Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus, and Vivian Wu of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative – tendered their registrations from the company.

While the company is yet to fill the vacancies, the move is likely part of the edtech giant’s strategy to allay concerns of investors. 

Earlier in the day, the troubled edtech major also onboarded former upGrad chief executive Arjun Mohan as the new CEO of its international business.

BYJU’S has seen a string of bad news in the recent past. Be it regulatory skirmishes, mounting losses, mass layoffs or a potential debt crisis, the edtech company has been gripped by a long list of issues which have attracted negative headlines and put the company under spotlight.

With much expected to unfold in the coming days, it remains to be seen how the new appointments help it assuage jumpy investors as it deals with fires across multiple fronts.