Movers And Shakers Of The Week [October 5-October 10]

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

Bengaluru-based food delivery major Swiggy’s standoff with its delivery executives in Hyderabad seems to have taken a violent turn. Reports suggest that groups of delivery executives who are for and against the stir have had a scuffle.

While some of the company’s delivery executives are striking against a cut in wages, others choose to work due to a financial crunch at their homes.

Since September 15, around 3,500 Swiggy delivery executives have been on strike in Hyderabad as they protest against the reduction in the minimum payout per order from INR 35 to INR 15, and the removal of monthly incentives of up to INR 5,000. 

Shaik Salauddin, the national general secretary of the Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) — the body that organised the workers’ protest in Hyderabad — expressed his dissatisfaction with Swiggy’s representation during the meetings with the labour commissioner. 

He reiterated that workers’ protests had been stopped due to meetings with commissioner. “We will resume our protests since the meetings haven’t proved fruitful,” Salauddin announced.

Zypp Electric Appoints Himanshu Budhiraja

Electric vehicle maker Zypp Electric has appointed Himanshu Budhiraja as its VP-Growth. He will be responsible for optimising sales and formulating strategies to expedite the growth of the company in the last mile delivery focus.

With over 12 years of business experience he has worked with bluechip companies like Samsung, Airtel, and Rivigo alongside others.

Previously, at Samsung, he had been responsible for building a retail sell-out model to capture the highest market share pan-India for the company. He has also played a key role in quadrupling the footprint for Samsung Brandshop in the market. At Rivigo, he built the fastest, most reliable revenue model from scratch in India. His leadership increased the company’s revenue to over 270% in less than six months.

 Uday Shankar Quits Star & Disney India

Uday Shankar, chairman of Star & Disney India and president, Walt Disney Company APAC has quit from his position. He will remain at Disney till December 31.

Prior to Star, he was CEO and editor of Star News, the then joint venture between Star India and ABP Group.

Previously, Shankar has been the editor and news director at TV Today Group, where he spearheaded the launch of Aaj Tak, a leading Hindi news channel, in 2000 and Headlines Today (now India Today TV), in 2003.

Eduversity Brings In Pankaj Bansal

Pankaj Bansal, the cofounder and CEO of PeopleStrong has joined edtech startup Sunstone Eduversity’s advisory board. With his experience both as an entrepreneur and an HR Leader, Pankaj will play a key role in helping the company scale corporate relations.

With over two decades of experience in the HR functions at corporate houses, Pankaj has worked with the Aricent Group, where he was a part of the founding team of the company’s BPO division. He was previously the founder of The HR Fund, and has now co-founded Work10M, a fund focusing on the new-age workforce. Pankaj is also a non-executive Director at Wheebox. 

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