In a recent development, Zepto, the quick-commerce platform, has announced significant shifts in its top management. Vinay Dhanani, who previously served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), has been appointed as the President-supply chain and category, taking on a pivotal role within the organization.
Senior Vice President of operations Vikas Sharma will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO), taking over from Dhanani. This transition reflects Zepto’s strategic decision to entrust Sharma with the responsibilities and leadership required to drive the company’s operations forward. Effective June 2023, Sharma’s expertise and experience will be instrumental in shaping Zepto’s operational excellence and ensuring continued growth and success.
Last month, Zepto, a company backed by Y Combinator’s Continuity Fund, made an announcement regarding the appointment of Ramesh Bafna as its Chief Financial Officer.
In June of last year, Ramesh Bafna assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer at CoinSwitch Kuber, a crypto trading platform. Recently, he transitioned from his position at CoinSwitch Kuber to join Zepto as their CFO. This decision aligns with Zepto’s goal of going public within the next two to three years, a plan set forth by the Mumbai-based startup.
According to a statement released by the company, Dhanani, who joined Zepto from the prominent ecommerce company Flipkart in July 2021, has been assigned the responsibility of integrating Zepto’s buy-side and sell-side category teams.
Meanwhile, in his new role as the COO, Vikas Sharma will now directly lead operations end-to-end. He will oversee and manage every aspect of the company’s operations, starting from the back-end distribution centers all the way to the last-mile delivery. Additionally, he will also be responsible for handling supply planning, ensuring a seamless and efficient flow of products throughout the entire process. This strategic appointment will enable Vikas Sharma to bring his expertise and leadership to streamline and optimize the operational functions of the company.
According to an official statement from the company, Jhaveri is set to assume the role of chief growth officer at Zepto, as Amritansu Nanda, the current holder of the position, will be departing to pursue a career break.
“Amritansu was pivotal in building the growth team from scratch and scaling Zepto into one of the fastest-growing internet companies in Indian history. After an incredible stint at Zepto, Amritansu will be moving on to take a well-deserved career break to focus on his family and health, and the Zepto team genuinely wishes him well,” the company said on Wednesday.“With a leadership team as strong as the one we have today, I am confident that we will build Zepto into a generational public company within 2-3 years,” Aadit Palicha, Co-founder and CEO, Zepto, said in a statement.
In May of the previous year, Zepto successfully secured a funding round, raising $200 million and achieving a valuation of $900 million. Within the online grocery industry, Zepto faces competition from various players including Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket with Tata backing, Blinkit under Zomato’s ownership, and Dunzo supported by Reliance.
Top deck reshuffle across the board
Zepto’s recent reorganization closely follows similar shifts in top management seen at other prominent food and grocery delivery companies such as Zomato and Swiggy.
Earlier this month, Zomato, headquartered in Gurgaon, made significant executive appointments. Rakesh Ranjan and Rinshul Chandra were promoted to the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, respectively, for the food ordering and delivery vertical. Additionally, Rishi Arora was appointed as the CEO of Zomato’s business-to-business vertical, Hyperpure.
Prior to their recent appointments, Rakesh Ranjan served as the Business Head of New Businesses at Zomato, while Rinshul Chandra held the position of Vice President of Product within the company. On the other hand, Rishi Arora brings nearly nine years of experience from his tenure at Blinkit, previously known as Grofers, where he held the role of Senior Vice President of Operations. In July of last year, Arora was promoted to the position of Co-Founder at Blinkit.
Meanwhile, Swiggy, the Bengaluru-based food and grocery delivery platform, has been experiencing a wave of senior executive departures in recent months. Adding to this trend, it was reported on May 29 that Anuj Rathi, the current Senior Vice President of Revenue and Growth, is set to leave the company.
Apart from Rathi, Swiggy has also witnessed the departure of its Chief Technology Officer, Dale Vaz, and Vice President of Marketing, Ashish Lingamneni. Meanwhile, Karthik Gurumurthy, the head of the quick commerce business Instamart, is currently on a sabbatical, and Nishad Kenkre, the Vice President and Head of Revenue and Growth at Instamart, has left the company.