BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian education technology company Byju’s said on Monday that its India CEO Arjun Mohan has stepped down after spending seven months in the role, the latest setback for the embattled startup already hit with financial, legal and operational woes.
The move comes after a seven-month operational and costs review led by Mohan, who will transition to an external advisory role, the company said without providing a reason for the resignation.
Mohan, former CEO of edtech upGrad, joined Byju’s last July to lead the international business and was made India CEO in September.
Byju’s, once one of India’s hottest startups, has suffered numerous setbacks in the past few years, leading to a crisis of investor confidence, thousands of job cuts and its valuation nosediving to under $3 billion from $22 billion in 2022.
Separately on Monday, Byju’s said that shareholders have approved its rights issue. The startup had previously struggled to meet salary deadlines of its employees, citing inability to access funds due to a standoff with some of its shareholders.
Byju’s will now consolidate into three divisions — its marquee online learning app business, online classes and tuition centers and lastly, test preparation — with each having a separate head, the company said.
Byju’s, which operates in 21 countries as per its LinkedIn page, said the restructuring would not impact its international businesses, since it was product, not geography, specific.
The company also said that founder and CEO Byju Raveendran will take on a more “hands-on” approach in daily operations, compared with his recent focus on aspects such as raising capital and global expansion.
In February, a group of investors including Prosus and Peak XV voted to oust Raveendran due to governance, financial mismanagement and compliance issues. Byju’s had called the move invalid.
(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto and Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Maju Samuel)
