Important Movers And Shakers Of The Week [Nov 25-30]

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

After years of cash burn, startups have started to streamline their business towards profitability. In one such instance, cab aggregator major, Ola is going to lay off 5-8% staff, accounting to around 350 employees, of the current total of 4,500.

Ola’s CFO Harish Abhichandani, in an email to the employees, said that as a business, the company needs to sharpen its focus on metrics like revenue, growth and profitability.

Here’s a look at the other important movers and shakers of the week

DocsApp Appoints Mohamed Esha Fayas As Head of Product

Bengaluru-based online doctor consultation platform DocsApp has appointed Mohamed Esha Fayas as head of product. At his new role, Esha will lead the product, analytics and design teams working closely in Tier 2 cities in the country. He will be based in Bengaluru and will work directly with the CEO.

Fayas brings with him a decade worth of work experience in product, growth, gaming and analytics across high growth startups. Before DocsApp, he was associated with Dream11 as head of product where he built great user experiences and helped in scaling the user base to 70 Mn from 10 Mn. Prior to that, Fayas was the head of growth at FreeCharge where he played a pivotal role in doubling the paid user base in just a year.

Haptik Appoints Saumil Shah As Vice President Of Engineering

Reliance Jio-owned conversational AI assistant Haptik has appointed Saumil Shah as the vice president of engineering. Shah, who was most recently at Box.com, will join the executive leadership team of Haptik to run end to end engineering and product delivery. He will report directly to cofounder and CTO Swapan Rajdev and would be based in the company’s headquarters in Mumbai.

With a master’s degree in computer science from the University of California, Shah has spent the last 10 years in Silicon Valley before moving to India to join Haptik. In his last role, he spent more than 6 years at Box.com, cloud storage and management company. Prior to Box, Shah started his career at gaming company Zynga.

Ambreesh J. Mahajan Appointed As Chief Operating Officer At MoveInSync (MIS)

Bengaluru-based office commute platform MoveInSync Technology Solutions (MIS) has appointed Ambreesh J. Mahajan as chief operating officer. In this role, he will be responsible for overseeing business strategy and architect all business operations to deliver quality customer experience. Additionally, he will also be responsible for strengthening the overall operations of the business and anchor future growth of the company within India and globally.

Ambreesh brings with him global, business executive leadership experience of over three decades, spanning across different industry verticals like travel, transport, logistics, utilities, telecom, aviation, retail, and ecommerce.

Over the last 12 months, Ambreesh has been consulting, mentoring, and been on the advisory Board many startups such as Juno Clinic, MoveInSync, Whitehat Jr, Option3, Phonon.AI, and Roomoncall. Prior to his consulting stint, Ambreesh spent significant time and worked for Sutherland Global Services Limited, WNS Global Services, Thomas Cook, MakeMyTrip, and International Travel House Limited.

20Cube Appoints Beat Simon And Albert Ng

Zephyr Peacock backed technology-driven logistics provider, 20Cube, has announced the appointment of Beat Simon as executive chairman and Albert Ng, former APL Logistics strategy lead as head of strategy and implementation.

As executive chairman of 20Cube, Simon will lead the Board and provide the CEO with support and guidance around key strategic issues. In Past, Simon has led major profit organisations across multiple cultures and geographies. He has developed and implemented successful business strategies with Danzas (now part of DHL), Panalpina, Agility and APL Logistics, specialising in meeting the expectations of diverse stakeholder groups.

In his new role at 20Cube, Albert Ng will help to build the company’s foundation in new-age logistics, through fresh strategic initiatives, new franchise models and potential M&A transactions. Albert Ng has over twenty years of experience growing and operating businesses in the transportation, logistics and travel sector. He started his career in consultancy at McKinsey & Company and as global head of strategy and marketing at APL Logistics Albert was instrumental in the company’s successful strategic transformation.

Stanza Living Strengthens Leadership Team

Delhi-based student housing startup Stanza Living has strengthened its senior leadership team with the appointment of Ranju Goyal as general counsel, Kanishka Mazumdar as vice president – F&B, and Nitin Mohan Srivastava as vice president – growth strategy.

In her new role, Goyal will be responsible for leading the legal advisory function at Stanza Living and providing guidance on business strategies, statutory and regulatory compliances, and risk management.

Further, Goyal carries with her an experience of over 20 years in legal advisory, regulatory and secretarial roles for DLF, Rivigo, Indiabulls, INOX and Moser Baer in the infrastructure, power, cement, chemical, real estate and logistics sectors.

Mazumdar, in his role, will lead the building and growth of a consumer-focused food and beverage vertical, ensuring quality and efficiency of operations across the value chain. He has an experience of 30 years across the hospitality, QSR and retail industry with Spencer’s, Metro Cash and Carry, and Big Basket.

Nitin will focus on the growth strategy efforts of the company, with a dedicated focus on driving technology-enabled rapid-scale transformation of real estate supply to consumer-focused spaces.

Nitin brings in over 13 years of experience in marketing, sales and operations roles, leading branding and product portfolio development for consumer brands like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone. In past, he has been responsible for delivering consumer-focused operations and delivery experience, creating a high-quality Chaayos brand experience across consumer touchpoints.

Stay tuned for the next edition of Movers and Shakers of the week!

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