Ola Cars CEO Arun Sirdeshmukh Resigns, CFO GR Arun Kumar To Manage Operations

Less than a year after his appointment, Ola Cars CEO Arun Sirdeshmukh has resigned from the company. This was confirmed in a tweet by Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal who said, “Arun Sirdeshmukh will move on. Wish him well.”

Sirdeshmukh was leading the company’s go-to-market (GTM) strategy as well as its used cars business. Following his resignation, chief financial officer (CFO) GR Arun Kumar will manage Ola Cars’ day-to-day operations. 

“Our group CFO Arun Kumar GR now has an expanded role managing day to day operations. Both of Sirdeshmukh’s roles (GTM as well as Ola Cars) will now be under Arun Kumar GR as part of his expanded role,” an Ola spokesperson told The Economic Times. 

Ola Cars was launched in October last year to enable customers on the Ola app to purchase new and used vehicles. on the Ola app.

Sirdeshmukh’s exit comes at a time when Ola is trying to diversify its business. Ola Cars was envisaged by the company to add new products to its bouquet of services as it prepared for its initial public offering (IPO).

About 90% of the revenue of the mobility giant comes from its ride-hailing business. Other arms such as quick commerce business Ola Dash and fintech business Ola Money still contribute meagre amounts to its revenue. The diversification was reportedly a part of Ola’s bid to position itself as a superapp prior to its stock market listing. 

Meanwhile, reports have also emerged about Ola’s chief of group strategy Amit Anchal leaving the company. “Amit (Anchal) was supposed to lead Ola’s IPO and also played a key role in fundraising but with listing plans uncertain for now, he has decided to move on,” said a report in the Moneycontrol.

However, the company categorically denied reports of Anchal’s resignation. In a tweet, Aggarwal said, “Amit is a core part of our leadership team and is not going anywhere.”

Ola has seen a slew of exits in the last couple of years. In October 2021, the then chief operating officer Gaurav Porwal and chief financial officer Swayam Saurabh left the company in a span of a week. In November that year, its general counsel Sandeep Chowdhury also resigned after a nine-month stint. Later, Ola’s longest-serving executive Rohit Munjal also put in his papers as the chief human resources officer of the company in November 2021. 

Ola has also been under fire over its electric vehicles (EVs) catching fire. While the company has recalled more than 1,400 scooters, the reports of scooters malfunctioning and delay in deliveres  have added to its problems. 

Despite this, Ola Electric, the company’s arm, sold the most number of ebikes in April, dislodging Hero Electric from the top spot. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ VAHAN Portal, Ola Electric sold 12,683 units last month, a 39% increase over its March figures.

According to a research report, the Indian electric vehicle market was valued at $1.43 Tn in 2021 and is expected to reach about $15.40 Tn by 2027, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 47.09% between 2022 and 2027.

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