Movers And Shakers Of The Week [March 1-6]: Flipkart’s Leadership Reshuffle & More

We bring to you the latest edition of movers and shakers of the week in the Indian startup ecosystem.

As Walmart-owned Flipkart is trying to get the wheels rolling for its public listing by 2022 at a prospective valuation of $40 Bn, the ecommerce giant has turned to leadership reshuffle to make the ride smoother. The company has appointed former Unilever global executive Hemant Badri as the senior vice president for its supply chain operations.

Amitesh Jha, who was previously heading the supply chains operations at Flipkart and Myntra, would now take up the position of senior vice president of CDO (category design operations) and M3 (Marketing, Merchandising & Monetization). In an email to its employees, Flipkart also outlines changes in reporting structure, adding that Jha would directly manage and mentor Badri over the next few months to enable a smooth transition. The email was accessed by ET, which first reported the development.

Ranjith Boyanapalli, who headed the fintech and payments group, will take up the additional charter of customer experience, marketplace and the Central Liquidation Team (CLT).

The ecommerce giant had previously added four new members to its board of directors. These were CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, HDFC CEO Keki Mistry, Walmart’s global chief technology officer Suresh Kumar and Walmart’s executive vice president for international strategy and development Leigh Hopkins.

U GRO Appoints New Chief Treasury Officer

Mumbai-based non-banking financial company U Gro Capital has appointed Amit Gupta, former head of investment and acquisition at Shapoorji Real Estate Fund, as the chief treasury officer. In this role, he will be responsible for building long term partnerships with public and private sector banks, capital market-linked borrowings, development of financial institutions and banks for colending.

Airmeet Appoints Pudi Ravi Krishna As Director Of Product Design

Bengaluru-based virtual events platform Airmeet has appointed Pudi Ravi Krishna as the director for product design. Krishna has about two decades of experience in designing enterprise and consumer apps. He previously worked as a director of design at Capitally Tech, a software product company that provides cloud-based omnichannel customer engagement and ecommerce platform-related services for retailers and brands. Along with a ten-member team, he also created a new design language called ‘haiku’ during his stint.

Utsav Malhotra Joins Noise As COO

Indian electronics and lifestyle brand Noise has appointed Ustav Malhotra as the chief operating officer (COO). He has previously worked as the business head at Nicobar Design, a premium and modern clothing and accessories brand for men and women. Formerly, Malhotra served as the COO of AMPM fashions and the vice president at Fashion and You, as well as at Umbrella Associates and Arvind Lifestyle brands. In his current role, he will be formulating and executing Noise’s strategic initiatives, vision and developing a roadmap for achieving its business goals.

Ramesh Abhishek Takes Up Advisory Roles In ADIF

Seasoned bureaucrat Ramesh Abhishek has joined industry body Atmanirbhar Digital India Foundation (ADIF), which represents the country’s digital and technology startups as an advisor. Abhishek is a retired IAS officer of 1982 batch with 37 years of experiences of promoting good governance, public policy, competitiveness, regulatory & judicial reforms, policy design & implementation, intellectual property rights, investment promotion and facilitation and institution building. In his last appointment as the secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), he was instrumental in facilitating and building the Make in India and Startup India initiatives.

Doceree Appoints Former McCann Health VP To Lead New Vertical

Healthtech startup Doceree has brought on board Preetha Vasanji as the senior VP to lead its latest vertical Doceree Engage. The latest venture will offer marketing solutions to physicians. The focus of the program will be on enterprise-level multi-channel engagement and performance marketing. A former McCann Health senior vice president and general manager, Vasanji has over two decades of experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector.