Mohandas Pai, Rajnish Kumar To Step Down From BYJU’S Advisory Council

There seems to be no end to BYJU’S woes. Ace investor TV Mohandas Pai and ex-SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar will step down from the edtech major’s advisory panel next month.

The two will leave the advisory committee once their year-long tenure ends on June 30. In a statement, a BYJU’S spokesperson said that the edtech giant as well as Kumar and Pai have “mutually” decided not to renew the contractual agreement between them.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement, Kumar and Pai also claimed that their “engagement” with the company was only on a fixed-term basis for a year.

“Our engagement with the Company as advisors was always on a fixed term basis for a year. Based on our discussions with the founders, it was mutually decided that the tenure of the advisory council should not be extended. Though the formal engagement concludes, the founders and the company can always approach us for any advice. We wish the founders and the company the very best for the future,” Kumar and Pai said in a joint statement.

Commenting on their departure, BYJU’S cofounder and CEO Byju Raveendran added, “Rajnish Kumar and Mohandas Pai have provided invaluable support in the past year. The ongoing litigations by a few foreign investors have delayed our plans but their advice will be relied upon in the ongoing rebuild which I am personally leading”.

Meanwhile BYJU’S negated media reports that termed Pai and Kumar’s departure as a setback to the edtech firm.

“Characterising a routine move as “a setback” is exaggerated and attention-seeking. TLPL values the engagement with the Advisors and greatly appreciates all their efforts in navigating the company through turbulent times,” as per the company’s official statement.

Notably, in July 2023, after multiple board members including representatives of PeakXV Partners, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Prosus resigned from the board, BYJU’S had now appointed Rajnish Kumar and TV Mohandas Pai as members of its advisory council.

The troubled edtech firm had then said that the advisory council will guide the board and chief executive officer (CEO) Byju Raveendran in matters related to the company to bolster corporate governance guardrails.

However, the two industry veterans seem to have called it quits after just two months at the edtech firm. This comes at a time when the edtech major continues to grapple with a long list of issues. The company is under fire for a slew of reasons including delayed salaries, mass layoffs, a looming debt crisis, mounting losses and delayed financials.

For context, BYJU’S net loss surged 81% YoY to INR 8,245.2 Cr (close to $1 Bn) in FY22 even as operating revenues also rose over 120% to INR 5,014.6 Cr during the year under review, largely on the back of coaching arm Aakash.

The latest departures come amid the exit of key senior executives including India CEO Arjun Mohan and other C-Suite executives.

Not just this, the backers also banded together and held an extraordinary general meeting earlier this year to oust Raveendran and his family from the company. This came right after BYJU’S undertook a $200Mn rights issue at a valuation cut of from 99% from $22 Bn at which it raised capital during the last fundraise.

The investors have also filed insolvency cases against the edtech giant in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Meanwhile, edtech seems to have formulated a new strategy, BYJU’S 3.0 to chart a new path ahead with its lean structure and fewer headcount to cut costs and chart a path to profitability.