BYJU’S CBO Prathyusha Agarwal, two other business heads exit amid ongoing challenges
The Bengaluru-based edtech company said three departures are part of its businesses reorganisation.
Edtech firm has witnessed the departure of three senior executives, marking more exits from the troubled edtech firm as it faces a series of challenges.
The latest to leave are Pratyusha Agarwal, BYJU’S Chief Business Officer; Himanshu Bajaj, Business Head of BYJU’S Tuition Centre; and Mukut Deepak, Business Head of Classes 4-10 Online and Home Tuitions.
Before joining BYJU’S, Agarwal held the role of chief consumer and data officer at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited. Bajaj served as the Asia Pacific consumer and retail head at Kearney, while Deepak was the chief business development officer at Tata Sky in Tata Play Ltd.
The Bengaluru-based edtech startup confirmed the departures in a statement.
“As BYJU'S continues to chart its path to profitability and sustainable growth, we have undertaken a restructuring of businesses and verticals including the consolidation of four verticals into two key verticals - K-10 and Exam Prep,” a BYJU'S spokesperson, said in a statement.
“At present, two very seasoned and senior leaders lead both verticals. Ramesh Karra leads the K-10 vertical, while Jitesh Shah leads the exam prep business. And, as a part of this reorganisation of businesses, Mukut Deepak, Pratyusha Agarwal and Himanshu Bajaj will be moving on,” the spokesperson added.
Moneycontrol was the first to report this development.
The latest exits come after Cherian Thomas, Senior Vice President for International Business at BYJU'S, left the company to take on the role of CEO at Impending, a company specialising in software and mobile gaming apps.
Thomas is said to have played an integral part in setting up BYJU'S' US operations. He was also responsible for spearheading the business of BYJU’S subsidiary Osmo as its CEO.
BYJU'S has been downsizing its workforce, both globally and domestically, as it navigates myriad challenges.
Earlier this month, as part of a performance review process, BYJU'S let go of about 100 employees. These dismissals followed another round of job cuts that impacted about 1,000 individuals. Over the past year, BYJU'S has executed multiple workforce trimmings as part of its ongoing cost-cutting initiatives.
Post the pandemic-led edtech boom, BYJU’S continues to face several challenges, including delays in filing financial statements, conflicts with lenders over a $1.2-billion term loan B, and a dispute with US-based investment fund Davidson Kempner regarding its test prep unit Aakash.
In FY21, the edtech firm reported a loss of Rs 4,564.38 crore, significantly larger than its FY20 loss of Rs 305.5 crore. The company is expected to file its FY22 and FY23 financials in the coming months.
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti
