Asked Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa to step down twice after acquisition, says Eternal CEO Deepinder Goyal

Asked Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa to step down twice after acquisition, says Eternal CEO Deepinder Goyal

Eternal founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal has said he asked Albinder Dhindsa, founder and CEO of Blinkit, to step down twice in the period following Zomato’s acquisition of the quick commerce firm, as part of what he described as a hard-edged leadership reset.

Speaking on a video podcast with Raj Shamani, Goyal said the conversations took place soon after the acquisition, when Dhindsa was struggling to adapt to the changes required post-integration.

“Right after we acquired Blinkit, I asked him (Albinder) to leave. I told him, ‘You will not be able to cut it. He said okay. This happened twice during that timeframe, and we started the transition,” Goyal said.

The comments offer a rare public glimpse into how Goyal manages senior leadership transitions at Eternal, the parent of Zomato and Blinkit, particularly in situations where founders or top executives are required to adjust to a new organisational structure after an acquisition.

Goyal said his leadership approach involves prolonged coaching, followed by a direct confrontation if progress stalls. “All of us have this armour. And when patient coaching runs out, I penetrate this armour. Me being angry is also because I care,” he said.

Describing what he called a “rock bottom” phase, Goyal added that he sometimes deliberately strips away a leader’s confidence to force a reset. “I call this rock bottom, where I hurt people, their self-confidence completely goes for a toss. I do this with people who I think have insane potential, but something in their head is coming in their way,” he said.

According to Goyal, the approach has worked more often than not. “Over time, the success rate of this is four out of five, where they come out of it.”

Zomato acquired Blinkit, then known as Grofers, in 2022 for Rs 4,447 crore, or about $568 million at the time, in an all-stock deal, marking its formal entry into India’s fast-growing quick commerce segment. Since the acquisition, Blinkit has become a core growth driver for Eternal, with aggressive store expansion and increasing contribution to overall order volumes.

Goyal did not indicate whether Dhindsa’s role or responsibilities were formally altered during the transition period, but the comments underline the intensity of post-acquisition integration at Eternal, particularly as the company scaled Blinkit alongside Zomato amid rising competition in quick commerce.