Foodtech giant Zomato‘s independent director Gunjan Soni has stepped down from the company’s board due to “increased work commitments.”
In͏͏ a͏͏ BSE͏͏ filing,͏͏ the͏͏ company͏͏ stated͏͏ that͏͏ Soni͏͏ will͏͏ also͏͏ step͏͏ down͏͏ from͏͏ her͏͏ roles͏͏ on͏͏ the͏͏ risk͏͏ management͏͏ and͏͏ corporate͏͏ social͏͏ responsibility͏͏ committees.
Notably,͏͏ Soni͏͏ serves͏͏ as͏͏ the͏͏ CEO͏͏ of͏͏ Zalora,͏͏ a͏͏ Southeast͏͏ Asia-focussed͏͏ ecommerce͏͏ platform.
“…͏͏ The͏͏ decision͏͏ to͏͏ step͏͏ down͏͏ was͏͏ challenging͏͏ and͏͏ stems͏͏ from͏͏ increased͏͏ professional͏͏ commitments.͏͏ I͏͏ am͏͏ thankful͏͏ for͏͏ the͏͏ opportunity͏͏ to͏͏ have͏͏ served͏͏ on͏͏ the͏͏ board͏͏ and͏͏ have͏͏ confidence͏͏ in͏͏ Zomato’s͏͏ management͏͏ team͏͏ and͏͏ the͏͏ company’s͏͏ future͏͏ direction…,”͏͏ Soni͏͏ stated͏͏ in͏͏ her͏͏ resignation͏͏ letter.
She͏͏ further͏͏ stated͏͏ that͏͏ there͏͏ were͏͏ “no͏͏ material͏͏ reasons͏͏ for͏͏ her͏͏ resignation͏͏ other͏͏ than͏͏ those͏͏ outlined͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ resignation͏͏ letter.”
Regarding͏͏ her͏͏ departure,͏͏ Zomato͏͏ co-founder͏͏ and͏͏ CEO͏͏ Deepinder͏͏ Goyal͏͏ remarked,͏͏ “It͏͏ has͏͏ been͏͏ a͏͏ pleasure͏͏ to͏͏ work͏͏ with͏͏ Gunjan,͏͏ and͏͏ I͏͏ want͏͏ to͏͏ extend͏͏ my͏͏ heartfelt͏͏ thanks͏͏ for͏͏ her͏͏ assistance͏͏ in͏͏ navigating͏͏ the͏͏ ups͏͏ and͏͏ downs͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ past͏͏ few͏͏ years.͏͏ On͏͏ behalf͏͏ of͏͏ Zomato,͏͏ I͏͏ appreciate͏͏ Gunjan’s͏͏ valuable͏͏ insights͏͏ and͏͏ guidance,͏͏ which͏͏ have͏͏ been͏͏ instrumental͏͏ to͏͏ our͏͏ growth…”
An͏͏ alumna͏͏ of͏͏ XLRI͏͏ Jamshedpur,͏͏ she͏͏ previously͏͏ led͏͏ Jabong͏͏ (which͏͏ was͏͏ later͏͏ acquired͏͏ by͏͏ Myntra)͏͏ and͏͏ has͏͏ also͏͏ worked͏͏ with͏͏ notable͏͏ companies͏͏ such͏͏ as͏͏ Star͏͏ India͏͏ and͏͏ McKinsey͏͏ &͏͏ Company.
Leadership͏͏ Changes͏͏ at͏͏ Zomato:
This͏͏ development͏͏ comes͏͏ at͏͏ a͏͏ time͏͏ when͏͏ the͏͏ company͏͏ is͏͏ undergoing͏͏ a͏͏ significant͏͏ reshuffle.͏͏ Just͏͏ weeks͏͏ ago,͏͏ Zomato’s͏͏ co-founder͏͏ and͏͏ Chief͏͏ People͏͏ Officer͏͏ (CPO),͏͏ Akriti͏͏ Chopra,͏͏ resigned͏͏ to͏͏ “pursue͏͏ other͏͏ interests.”͏͏ Earlier͏͏ this͏͏ month,͏͏ Zomato͏͏ also͏͏ brought͏͏ in͏͏ Kunal͏͏ Khambhati,͏͏ the͏͏ former͏͏ head͏͏ of͏͏ live͏͏ events͏͏ and͏͏ IP͏͏ at͏͏ BookMyShow,͏͏ to͏͏ strengthen͏͏ its͏͏ ‘going͏͏ out’͏͏ vertical.
Continue͏͏ Exploring:͏͏ Zomato bolsters͏͏ ‘going͏͏ out’͏͏ vertical͏͏ with͏͏ appointment͏͏ of͏͏ former͏͏ BookMyShow͏͏ executive͏͏ Kunal͏͏ Khambhati
This͏͏ also͏͏ comes͏͏ as͏͏ Zomato’s͏͏ shares͏͏ are͏͏ experiencing͏͏ an͏͏ upswing.͏͏ On͏͏ September͏͏ 23,͏͏ Zomato͏͏ shares͏͏ reached͏͏ an͏͏ all-time͏͏ high͏͏ of͏͏ INR͏͏ 298.05͏͏ during͏͏ intraday͏͏ trading,͏͏ driven͏͏ by͏͏ the͏͏ company’s͏͏ rising͏͏ profit͏͏ figures,͏͏ increasing͏͏ revenue,͏͏ strong͏͏ growth͏͏ of͏͏ Blinkit,͏͏ and͏͏ positive͏͏ feedback͏͏ from͏͏ brokerages.
Strong͏͏ Q1͏͏ FY25͏͏ Results:
Zomato͏͏ reported͏͏ a͏͏ net͏͏ profit͏͏ of͏͏ INR͏͏ 253͏͏ crore͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ first͏͏ quarter͏͏ (Q1)͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ financial͏͏ year͏͏ 2024-25͏͏ (FY25),͏͏ compared͏͏ to͏͏ INR͏͏ 2͏͏ crore͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ same͏͏ period͏͏ last͏͏ year.͏͏ Meanwhile,͏͏ operating͏͏ revenues͏͏ surged͏͏ by͏͏ 74%,͏͏ reaching͏͏ INR͏͏ 4,206͏͏ crore͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ quarter͏͏ under͏͏ review,͏͏ up͏͏ from͏͏ INR͏͏ 2,416͏͏ crore͏͏ in͏͏ Q1͏͏ FY24.
The͏͏ company’s͏͏ shares͏͏ closed͏͏ 0.85%͏͏ higher͏͏ at͏͏ INR͏͏ 277.5͏͏ on͏͏ the͏͏ BSE͏͏ on͏͏ Friday.
