The parent entity of edtech company Byju’s, Think & Learn, on November 27, said it elevated Jiny Thattil as its Chief Technology Officer at a time when the company is battling troubles on various fronts.
In a statement, the company said Thattil will take over reins from Anil Goel, who is leaving the company after three years as CTO. Earlier, Thattil has been serving as Senior Vice President, Engineering at BYJU’S.
According to Byju’s, Thattil has contributed to post-acquisition integration of various subsidiaries of BYJU’S. This transition is part of BYJU’S ongoing strategic restructuring and reorientation of its leadership team to further enhance operational efficiency, the company added.
“We are delighted to promote Jiny Thattil as the CTO of BYJU’S. His extensive experience and leadership skills make him the ideal candidate for this crucial role as we continue to rebuild for greater efficiency and sustainability. We would also like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Anil Goel, the outgoing CTO, for his exemplary work and dedication to driving technological innovation at BYJU’S,” Said Arjun Mohan, the India CEO of BYJU’S.
According to Byju’s, the new CTO, with a career spanning over 25 years in the software industry, brings experience in building and scaling engineering teams, delivering business and customer outcomes, and driving innovation across multiple product lines and platforms.
Earlier, Thattil has demonstrated leadership and understanding of domains, including e-commerce, advertising, analytics, payments, online banking, personal finance, business intelligence, healthcare, and transportation.
Byju’s said that he has worked in previous roles with companies like Happay, Amazon, InMobi, and GE Healthcare, among others.
Byju’s story so far
This development follows fresh troubles for Byju's as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) confirmed sending a show cause notice to edtech company Think and Learn Private Limited and Byju Raveendran in the FEMA violation case.
This also comes at a time when Byju’s comes even as the company delayed full and final settlements of laid-off employees yet again. The Bengaluru-based company had earlier shifted the date of payment from September to November.
Recently, the company overcame a longstanding issue with Davidson Kempner, linked with covenants on Byju’s’ subsidiary Aakash. Earlier in November, Manipal Group chairman Ranjan Pai bought out the debt investment by the US Hedge Fund, in a Rs 1,400-crore deal, Moneycontrol reported.
Meanwhile in September, Byju's also submitted a proposal to its lenders, in which the company expressed its intention to fully repay its $1.2 billion term loan B within the upcoming six months. Byju's aims to achieve this by making an initial payment of $300 million within the next three months.
As part of its efforts to secure the necessary funds for loan repayment, the company has also decided to undertake a strategic review of its key assets.
For this, Byju’s has put upskilling platform Great Learning and book reading platform Epic, up for sale, which would yield the company about $1 billion, Moneycontrol reported.
Byju’s, founded over a decade back by former teacher Raveendran, had soared to new heights in March 2022 after it raised a massive $800 million funding round, at a $22 billion valuation, becoming India’s most-valued startup.
But the company has come under fire since then for a host of issues including delayed financial results, the resignation of its auditor, Deloitte, and three key board members–Peak XV Partners (Sequoia Capital India)’s GV Ravishankar, Prosus’ Russel Dreisenstock and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Vivian Wu.
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