Even though Byju’s has given hundreds of its employees pink slips, the educational technology (edtech) company is bolstering its senior leadership group. It has hired Darshan Bhandari as vice president (V-P), engineering-tuition center and devices, and Sunil Sharma as vice president (V-P), engineering-student and teacher experience. Both are former Amazon executives.
Sharma would be in charge of launching vital technologies (tech) to improve the experiences of students, parents, and teachers as well as to improve customer service and mentor connections. Byju’s Tuition Centre, the company’s hybrid learning platform, will be led by Bhandari as it expands its technological capabilities.
According to Anil Goel, president of the tech division, “Byju’s tech-first approach makes it home to some of the world’s finest tech experts.”
Sharma has over 21 years of experience and has scaled up tech teams at organizations like Amazon, Hewlett Packard, and AGT International. He was Amazon’s head of technology for freight auditing and payments.
Bhandari has more than 18 years of experience developing talent and innovating in the tech sector at businesses like Amazon, Reliance Jio Infocomm, and Amdocs.
At a time when the business, which is valued at $22 billion, was preparing to go public, the company’s senior leadership is being strengthened. Byju Raveendran is the company’s CEO. By the following year, the company hopes to go public. According to reports, it might list as a primary listing in the US and a secondary listing in India, or vice versa. India and the US are both significant markets for Byju’s.
Vedhanarayanan Ganeshkumar, a seasoned Amazon tech executive, was recently named V-P-tech division.
In an effort to strengthen its tech vertical, Byju’s announced early this year that Mani Bansal and Maneesh Agrawal had been appointed to lead important tech functions.
Himanshu Bajaj was hired by the company in May to serve as the head of business for Byju’s Learning Center. Bajaj oversaw the Asia Pacific consumer and retail practice at the consulting firm Kearney. Rachna Bahadur was chosen as senior vice president to oversee the company’s plans for international growth. Bahadur led the consumer product practice while working as a partner at Bain & Company.
Byju’s announced Mukut Deepak’s appointment as head of business to oversee its Class 4–10 school segment last year. Deepak served as the digital venture’s director and Tata Sky’s chief business development officer.
According to those with knowledge of the situation, Byju’s is also planning to elevate Chief Operating Officer Mrinal Mohit to a larger position that will include overseeing India operations.
This is so that Raveendran, the company’s founder and CEO, can concentrate on acquisitions and international growth.
Krishna Vedati has been appointed president of international growth and strategic initiatives as part of the company’s senior leadership changes. Raveendran will receive reports from Vedati, co-founder and CEO of Tynker, a website that teaches kids how to code.