IPO-bound OYO shuffles leadership with an international focus
These leadership changes aim to strengthen OYO's global operations and enhance its focus on growth and technology.
IPO-bound hospitality platform has recently expanded its leadership team with five new appointments.
Sonal Sinha has been named Chief Operating Officer – International, while Rachit Srivastava takes on the role of Chief Operating Officer for OYO Vacation Homes (OVH) in Europe. Additionally, Shashank Jain has been promoted to Head of Technology and Online Revenue. Pankhuri Sakhuja will oversee Traum-Ferienwohnungen, OYO's listings business in Germany, as well as its flex-space business Innov8. Ashish Bajpai has been appointed Head of Revenue and Global OTA (Online Travel Agents).
These leadership changes aim to strengthen OYO's global operations and enhance its focus on growth and technology.
“As we pursue our growth objectives, agility and decisive action remain at the core of our strategy. Our leaders are continuously adapting and expanding their roles to stay ahead of evolving market dynamics and drive our business forward,” said OYO Founder and Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal.
In his new role as Chief Operating Officer – International at OYO, Sinha will oversee the company's international business operations, focusing on driving revenue and leading strategic initiatives, particularly across the US. He will also guide the company’s growth strategy and expand its presence in the American market.
Previously served as the Head of the Vacation Rentals Management Company business for OYO Vacation Homes (OVH), Srivastava played a key role in driving EBITDA performance and expanding supply in the vacation rental segment, OYO said in a statement. As COO of OVH in Europe, he will focus on enhancing growth and customer satisfaction across OYO’s European vacation homes portfolio.
Jain, who led product development for customer acquisition and retention at OYO, will now also oversee direct revenue and marketing for all hotels and homes. He has also helped launch apps for the company’s European brands, DanCenter and Belvilla by OYO. He is expected to leverage generative AI to improvw customer service and growth across markets.
Sakhuja, who joined OYO in 2018, has been managing the OYO workspaces vertical and hotels acquisition for some of OYO’s overseas markets. He will will now also take on the role of business head for OYO’s Germany-based vacation home listings business Traum-Ferienwohnungen, besides being formally appointed as the head of the workspaces business.
Bajpai will lend his expertise in driving OYO’s revenue growth through both direct and indirect channels and work to widen the visibility and distribution of the group’s hotels and homes around the globe.
Also, Global COO and Chief Product Officer Abhinav Sinha will be moving into an advisory role starting January 2025. He will continue to explore new opportunities for his own startup venture, OYO added in the statement.
Further, Ayush Mathur, President – OYO Europe, will be moving on to build his own startup. Mathur joined OYO in 2014 and held various positions in the company, including Chief Supply Officer and was recently in charge of OYO’s holiday parks business in Europe. Srivastava will take over his responsibilities.
The Softbank-backed travel-tech platform is expected to refile its initial public offering papers with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India after refinancing its existing $450-million Term Loan B at a lower interest rate.
(The copy was updated with additional details.)
Edited by Kanishk Singh