Former Tech Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani joins upGrad’s Board as Independent Director

Edtech firm upGrad has appointed CP Gurnani, former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Tech Mahindra, as an Independent Non-Executive Director to its Board, effective January 2024.

“As an Independent Director, I will prioritise the global expansion of the company, leveraging its strong credentials. My focus is to work with the leadership teams to transform upGrad into a highly export-oriented product, tapping into opportunities in B2B and B2C markets,” Gurnani said in a statement.

“...I am committed to guiding them on building more smart content and individualised learning trajectories for learners from diverse backgrounds and geographies. I intend to work with the Board and mentor the management to set audacious goals that align with positioning upGrad as the global smart content factory,” he added.

After 19 years of leadership at Tech Mahindra, Gurnani retired from his post last month. He served on the Board of Mahindra & Mahindra for over three decades. Before Tech Mahindra, Gurnani was the Founder and CEO at HCL Perot JV.

Gurnani becomes the second Non-Executive Director at upGrad after Chegg’s Dan Rosensweig, who was appointed in March last year.

“We have laid our business roadmap for coming years and are set to embark on a journey of driving sustainability. There’s a very strong demand coming out of global economies for constant learning...Aware of our sound growth, we are actively deploying a well-structured governance model - guided by leaders who are aligned to support upGrad’s development over short-term gains,” Ronnie Screwvala, Co-founder and Chairperson of upGrad, noted.

“I’m confident that CP’s profound leadership and ability to pre-empt market trends would further enhance our framework and underpin the integrity and efficiency of our business model,” Screwvala added.

This development follows upGrad's recent appointment of Asheesh Sharma as President of Short Courses and Bootcamps, effective immediately. Asheesh Sharma assumed the position, succeeding Subramanyam Reddy, Co-founder of Knowledgehut, who resigned from his role on December 5, 2023.

In 2023, upGrad made strategic leadership appointments, hiring Ipshita Kajla as HR Head for upGrad Abroad, Avnish Datt as Chief Business Officer at upGrad Harappa, along with Raj Dogra as Chief Information Officer and Rajiv H Singh as Vice President for New Initiatives.

In FY23, upGrad recorded a revenue of Rs 1,194 crore, up 96% from the previous financial year’s Rs 608 crore, while the adjusted EBITDA loss amounted to Rs 558 crore, as opposed to Rs 572 crore in the prior year.

Founded in 2015 by Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, and Phalgun Kompalli, upGrad operates across various educational sectors, encompassing test preparation, study abroad programmes, undergraduate degrees, and courses in collaboration with over 300 university partners.