Former SoftBank Managing Partner Lydia Jett Rejoins Flipkart’s Board

Former SoftBank managing partner Lydia Jett has rejoined Flipkart’s board as an independent director, a regulatory filing by the company showed.

Moneycontrol reported the development first.

Jett had been representing SoftBank’s Vision Fund on Flipkart’s board since 2017. However, she departed from the company’s board after stepping down from the managing partner position at SoftBank Investment Advisers in February 2024.

It is pertinent to note that SoftBank had sold its almost 20% of stake in Flipkart to Walmart in 2018 but returned to its captable with a co-investment of $3.6 Mn in 2021.

Jett will be the newest addition to Flipkart’s board, which includes Flipkart group chief executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy, HDFC chief executive Keki Mistry, along with senior Walmart executives.

The development comes amid senior management reshuffle and mass layoffs at Flipkart as the company shifts its focus to profit.

Earlier this year, Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal stepped down from the company’s board due to a conflict of interest between his new B2B startup OppDoor and Flipkart.

The same month, reports said that Flipkart was planning to eliminate 5-7% of its workforce to cut costs.

Speaking at an investor conference in London last month, Walmart’s chief financial officer (CFO) David Rainey said Flipkart witnessed double-digit growth during the quarter ended April 2024 (Q4 FY24), adding that the ecommerce giant was on “path to profitability”.

Flipkart recently made its second bet on India’s fintech space with the beta launch of Super.Money. The app allows users to make UPI transactions and offers cashback returns of up to 10% on Flipkart, Myntra and Shopsy.

Amid a rise in demand for instant delivery services, Flipkart is also planning to make its foray into the quick commerce space to take on the likes of Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit and Zepto.