SoftBank-backed Ola's vehicle commerce platform (Ola Cars) chief executive Arun Sirdeshmukh will be exiting the firm seven months after his appointment, a company spokesperson confirmed.
Sirdeshmukh was leading the company’s go-to-market (GTM) strategy as well as its used cars business for Ola Cars, launched in October 2021. Following his resignation, chief financial officer (CFO) GR Arun Kumar will manage Ola Cars’ day-to-day operations.
Ola founder and group chief executive officer (CEO) Bhavish Aggarwal also confirmed the exit in a post on microblogging website Twitter to say, “...Arun Sirdeshmukh will move on. Wish him well.”
The exit was first reported by Moneycontrol, which also stated Ola’s chief of group strategy, Amit Anchal leaving the firm as well.
Sirdeshmukh’s stepping down follows a slew of exits from the group’s top management in recent times. Since 2020, Ola's then CFO Swayam Saurabh, chief operating officer Gaurav Porwal, HR head Rohit Munjal and co-founders Ankit Bhati and Anand Shah have quit.
Responding to media reports, in the Twitter post Aggarwal said, "...Amit is a core part of our leadership team and is not going anywhere. Arun Sirdeshmukh will move on. We wish him well."
Ola Cars was established less than a year ago to offer users to digitally buy new and used cars using the Ola app. Including vehicle purchase, the company is also into financing, insurance, registration, maintenance, vehicle health diagnostics, service, accessories and resale. The business stated that it will begin with pre-owned automobiles and gradually expand to include new vehicles from Ola Electric and other manufacturers.
Ahead of an initial public offering (IPO), Ola is also planning to launch a super app, which would offer loans and microinsurance and diversify the business from mobility through which it makes the majority of its revenue. Ola has also piloted its instant delivery business, branding it as Ola Dash.
The Bengaluru-headquartered ride hailing company was recently valued at $7.3 billion when it raised $139 million in its Series J round, which was led by Edelweiss PE, IIFL, and Sunil Munjal's Hero Enterprises, in what appeared to be the final round of fundraising before its IPO.
Founded in 2010 by Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola serves more than 250 cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The company’s electric vehicle (EV) arm too raised $53 million and is now valued at over $2.3 billion. Temasek, which is an investor in the parent Ola, invested Rs 185.71 crore in Ola Electric. IIFL and Edelweiss also chipped in Rs 74 crore and Rs 111 crore respectively through their pre-IPO funds.
During the financial year ending March 31, 2021, Ola's operating revenue fell by 63% to Rs. 983.2 crore. During the same period, the company managed to cut its losses by 49% to Rs 1,116 crore.
