BYJU’S CBO, Two Other Senior Execs Resign Amid Restructuring

Three top executives from BYJU’S, including chief business officer Prathyusha Agarwal, have stepped down, marking the latest in a series of senior management departures from the edtech company.

Himanshu Bajaj, business head of BYJU’S Tuition Centers and Mukut Deepak, business head for Class 4 to 10, have also quit the edtech unicorn.

Agarwal joined the edtech giant in February 2022 from Zee Entertainment, where she was the chief consumer and data officer. Deepak was with the edtech for almost two years, having joined from Tata Play, while Bajaj joined BYJU’S in November 2021 to head BYJU’S Tuition Centers (BTC) from management consulting company Kearney.

BYJU’S spokesperson confirmed the development and attributed these resignations to organisational restructuring.

“As BYJU’S continues to chart its path to profitability and sustainable growth, we have undertaken a restructuring of businesses and verticals including the consolidation of four verticals into two key verticals – K-10 and Exam Prep,” the spokesperson said.

According to a Moneycontrol report, the edtech giant has scaled down the kindergarten to class 3 business, which was being headed by Agarwal from the business side.

“At present, two very seasoned and senior leaders lead both verticals – Ramesh Karra leads the K-10 vertical while Jitesh Shah leads the exam prep business. And as a part of this reorganisation of businesses, Mukut Deepak, Prathyusha Agarwal and Himanshu Bajaj will be moving on,” the spokesperson added.

The senior level exits come days after BYJU’S SVP for international business, Cherian Thomas, also quit. Thomas was considered one of the key members of the edtech unicorn’s American business and spearheaded Osmo, a US-based gaming-focused edtech startup acquired for $120 Mn in 2019.

Besides senior level exists, BYJU’S is also facing multiple operational issues, including delays in filing financials, resignations of board members, legal tussles with lenders and delays in raising fresh funding. However, the edtech giant has recently set up a board advisory council and roped in industry veterans like TV Mohandas Pai and Rajnish Kumar as advisors. It also appointed Richard Lobo as its human resources head earlier this month.

Since last year, BYJU’S and its group companies have let go of over 4,000 employees. The company also gave up its largest office space in Bengaluru to save operational costs.

Running behind the timelines, the edtech unicorn filed its financial statements for FY21 after an 18-month delay in September 2022, reporting INR 4,588 Cr in losses. Recently, BYJU’S assured investors that the company would file FY22 financials by September and statements for FY23 by the end of this year.