IPO-Bound boAt Names Gaurav Nayyar CEO

Consumer electronics startup boAt’s parent Imagine Marketing has elevated its COO Gaurav Nayyar to the position of CEO as it prepares for its public market debut. 

Nayyar, who has been with the startup for the past three years and previously worked as a partner at Bain & Company, will now lead boAt’s next phase of growth. 

Nayyar would be the third CEO of the company in three years. In 2023, the then CEO Vivek Gambhir was promoted to the role of chairman, with cofounder Sameer Mehta taking over as the CEO and MD. 

In a statement, boAt said that Mehta will now move to the role of executive director with a focus on long-term strategy, while cofounder Aman Gupta will continue to contribute as a non-executive director on the board.

The leadership change comes at a time when boAt is gearing up to become a publicly listed company. Earlier this month, it received SEBI’s nod for its confidential DRHP. The startup is expected to raise around INR 2,000 Cr through its upcoming IPO, in what will be its second attempt at a public listing after shelving IPO plans in 2022 due to market volatility.

In 2022, it had filed a DRHP for INR 2,000 Cr IPO. The IPO was to comprise a fresh issue of up to INR 900 Cr and an OFS component of up to INR 1,100 Cr. 

On the financial front, boAt turned profitable in FY25 but its revenue saw a marginal decline. The startup posted a net profit of INR 60.4 Cr during the year as against a loss of INR 73.7 Cr in FY24. However, operating revenue shrunk over 1% to INR 3,073.3 Cr in FY25 from INR 3,117.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Audio products continued to be the key driver of revenue, contributing INR 2,586 Cr to the top line in FY25 as against INR 2,459.2 Cr in FY24. The wearables business, including smartwatches, saw a sharp decline for the second consecutive year, with revenue plunging 40% YoY to INR 330.4 Cr.