Bhavish brings back brother Ankush Aggarwal to lead Ola Finance; adds to core team at Ola Cabs

Two weeks after the departure of Ola Cabs' CEO Hemant Bakshi, its founder Bhavish Aggarwal has roped in his brother, Ankush Aggarwal, to help lead the ridehailing firm, alongside his duties at Ola Electric.

Apart from being added to the core team at Ola Cabs, Ankush was also named Ola Financial Services' chief executive officer, according to an Ola spokesperson.

For Ankush, returning to Ola Financial is a bit of a homecoming since his lending startup, Avail Finance, was acquired by Ola's parent company, ANI Technologies, in 2022, for around $50 million.

Avail, a lending startup that aimed at providing credit to the blue-collar workforce, was integrated into Ola Money, after which it stopped disbursing loans completely in December 2022.

Backed by investors from Alpha Wave Global and Matrix Partners, Avail had been facing financial difficulties and had to undergo a round of reorganisation, including layoffs, shortly before being acquired by Ola.

While Ankush wasn't named CEO of the ridehailing group, the position will be left empty for a while after its former chief Hemant Bakshi quit the company at the end of April 2024.

According to a report by The Economic Times, which first broke the news of Ankush's appointment at Ola Cabs, Bhavish has resumed an active role, overseeing day-to-day operations himself.