In Another Top Level Exit, Tata Neu’s Travel Vertical Head Rajiv Subramanian Quits

In a recent development, Rajiv Subramanian, who had been leading the travel division within Tata Digital’s ecommerce superapp Tata Neu, has put down his papers. This departure marks another addition to the string of high-level exits within the organisation over the past year.

Subramanian is currently contemplating the prospect of establishing his own entrepreneurial venture, although the details of this potential endeavour are yet to be finalised, ET reported.

Subramanian was the head of Cleartrip before he joined Tata Digital in November 2021. 

With Subramanian’s departure, a significant number of senior employees appointed by former Tata Digital Preident Mukesh Bansal have parted ways with the company. A few executives have recently assumed more extensive responsibilities within the organisation.

Other senior executives at Tata Digital, including Prateek Mehta and Sharath Bulusu, also left the company over the past one year. Mehta and Bulusu were brought to the Tata Group by Bansal, along with other senior executives from Flipkart, Udaan, Blinkit and other startups.

Bansal , who cofounded Myntra and Cult.fit, stepped back from the day-to-day operations of the organisation earlier this year.

Earlier this month, it was reported recently that the Tata Group is mulling an additional investment of $1 Bn in Tata Neu. The conglomerate’s digital arm, Tata Digital, will receive the new funding in the coming year if the deal proceeds.

The potential $1 Bn funding is expected to give a much needed boost to Tata Neu to enhance its digital services, tide over technical issues, and accommodate any potential new expenditure requirements. Tata Group has directed Tata Digital to optimise the operations of the super app and address any app glitches to enhance user-friendliness. 

Tata Neu, which commenced its operations in April last year, draws inspiration from the likes of China’s Alipay and WeChat. It offers a comprehensive platform that consolidates a range of services, including hotel and flight bookings, grocery and electronics retail, as well as pharmaceutical services, all under one unified umbrella.

Meanwhile, Tata Digital logged a 5.6X year-on-year (YoY) jump in consolidated net loss to INR 3,052 Cr in FY22 even as income tripled YoY to INR 16,201 Cr during the period.