Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has stepped down from the board of the Walmart-owned e-commerce firm he founded with Sachin Bansal sixteen years ago, capping the end of an era.
Binny’s decision to step down comes months after he sold his remaining stake in the firm and at a time when he is starting up again, in the e-commerce space. His other co-founder Sachin Bansal exited Flipkart a few years ago and is now building a fintech venture Navi.
Binny and Flipkart confirmed the developments.
“I am proud of the Flipkart Group's achievements over the past 16 years. Flipkart is in a robust position, with a strong leadership team and a clear path forward, and with this confidence, I have decided to step aside, knowing the company is in capable hands”, Binny Bansal said.
At the same time, Leigh Hopkins, Executive Vice President, International Strategy & Development and Regional CEO – Asia and Walmex and Flipkart Board Member said, “As a founder of the business, Binny provides a unique combination of knowledge and experience. We have been fortunate to have him remain on the Board since Walmart’s investment in 2018, and we have greatly benefited from his counsel and insight.”
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO and Flipkart Board Member, who has been running operations for years now said, “We are thankful for Binny's partnership over the past several years, as the Flipkart Group has grown and entered new businesses. His insights and deep expertise of the business have been invaluable to the Board and company.”
Binny Bansal along with Accel, one of the company's earliest investors, and US-based Tiger Global Management fully exited the e-commerce giant by selling their stakes to Walmart in August last year. Binny is learnt to have netted $1-1.5 Billion from his stake in the company since inception.
These exits came half a decade after Walmart's purchase of a 77 percent stake in Flipkart for a staggering $16 billion in May 2018. The deal with Walmart came with a five-year non-compete clause, which ended in 2023, allowing Binny Bansal to start up again in e-commerce.
His new venture, OppDoor, will help e-commerce firms expand operations globally by providing them end-to-end solutions.
It will provide design, product, human resource, and other backend support to e-commerce companies that are looking to expand to other regions by leveraging the network of top platforms such as Amazon and others. OppDoor will initially focus on e-commerce companies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, Japan, and Australia.
Binny is also an active angel investor and is on the board of payments giant PhonePe. Flipkart's journey began in 2007 when it solely operated as an online bookstore out of a Bengaluru apartment.
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