Swiggy Appoints Delhivery CEO, Two Others As Independent Directors On Its Board

SUMMARY

Sahil Barua, Mallika Srinivasan, and Shailesh Haribhakti wii join the foodtech startup’s board as independent directors

This is the first time that Swiggy has appointed independent directors on its board

The move comes at a time when the Sriharsha Majety-led company is gearing up for its initial public offering

In what is being seen as another step by Swiggy towards its initial public offering (IPO), the foodtech giant has appointed three independent directors on its board, including Delhivery MD and CEO Sahil Barua.

Mallika Srinivasan, Padma Shri awardee and chairman and MD of TAFE, and Shailesh Haribhakti, chairman of Shailesh Haribhakti & Associates, will also join the board as independent directors.

“They (the new independent directors) have very rich and diverse experiences in building sustainable businesses at scale. Getting these new and powerful perspectives and strengthening our governance will immensely benefit us as we march ahead in our mission to bring unparalleled convenience to consumers,” Swiggy CEO and cofounder Sriharsha Majety said.

This is the first time the company has appointed independent directors on its board. Majety, Swiggy cofounder Nandan Reddy, Prosus Edtech and Food CEO Larry Illg, Prosus Ventures’ Ashutosh Sharma, SoftBank’s Sumer Juneja, and Accel’s Anand Daniel are the other members on Swiggy’s board.

The move comes at a time when the hyperlocal commerce startup is gearing up for its IPO. Last year, the decacorn hired JP Morgan and I-Sec as lead managers for the proposed IPO.

Amid the bloodbath in listed new-age tech stocks in India, Swiggy postponed the plans to file its draft red herring prospectus for the IPO to December 2023. The market capitalisation of Swiggy’s rival Zomato fell about 60% in 2022.

Like all other startups, the ongoing funding winter has affected Swiggy as well. Last month, the foodtech startup laid off 380 employees in a restructuring exercise to cut costs.

Swiggy’s net loss jumped 2.2X to INR 3,628.9 Cr in FY22 from INR 1,616.9 Cr in FY21. The rise in the loss was primarily fueled by a jump in its expenses, which grew 2.3X to INR 9,574.5 Cr in FY22 from INR 4,139.4 Cr in FY21.

Total revenue grew 2.2X to INR 6,119.8 Cr in FY22 from INR 2,675.9 Cr in FY21. Revenue from operations rose 124% to INR 5,704.9 Cr from INR 2,546.9 Cr in the previous year.