Flipkart SVP Ankit Jain to replace outgoing Swiggy Instamart SVP and COO Sairam Krishnamurthy

Flipkart SVP Ankit Jain to replace outgoing Swiggy Instamart SVP and COO Sairam Krishnamurthy

Swiggy Instamart, the food aggregators quick commerce platform, is likely to rope in Flipkart’s senior vice president Ankit Jain as its SVP, replacing Sairam Krishnamurthy, SVP and chief operating officer (COO), as part of a larger move at Flipkart.

The leadership change, part of a larger string of exits at Flipkart, marks a significant moment in the quick commerce talent war, as Swiggy Instamart steps up its expansion plan and the Walmart-backed e-commerce firm readies its quick delivery offering, Flipkart Minutes.

“Ankit will join as SVP of Instamart, replacing SVP and chief operating officer (COO) Sairam Krishnamurthy,” one of the sources cited above said.

Swiggy and Flipkart did not respond to Moneycontrol’s queries.

Krishnamurthy, who joined Swiggy Instamart in August 2024, was the platform’s first COO. Before that he spent over three years at More Retail, the Amazon-backed offline chain run in partnership with Samara Capital. He has also held leadership roles at Unilever and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL). It is not yet clear where he is headed next.

In the past months, Swiggy has hired several Flipkart executives like Shalabh Shrivastava (former Flipkart VP, now SVP of Driver Org at Swiggy), Hari Kumar G (former Flipkart VP, now Swiggy SVP and CBO for Swiggy Instamart), among others.

At Swiggy, Jain will work closely with Amitesh Jha, Swiggy Instamart’s CEO and his former Flipkart colleague.

Jha took over the top job in August 2024, succeeding Phani Kishan, who now oversees Swiggy Group’s central growth unit.

Jain’s exit comes amid larger exits at Flipkart.

At least four senior leaders have resigned in recent weeks, including Prajakta Kanaglekar (VP, HR–technology), Anurag Singhvi (VP, analytics), and Ganesh Ramaswamy (VP at Flipkart and CPTO at Cleartrip), Moneycontrol reported earlier.

SVPs and VPs such as Ravi Vijayraghavan, Harsh Chaudhary, Sandeep Karwa and Mayur Datar, too, reportedly exit in recent months.

The moves come as Flipkart attempts to bring down its monthly cash burn from $40 million to $20 million ahead of a potential public listing.

Swiggy Instamart has been expanding rapidly. The company added 316 dark stores between January and March 2025, bringing the total to 1,021, up from 705 in the previous quarter, as it takes on Blinkit, Zepto, and Flipkart Minutes in a fiercely competitive market.

Jain’s appointment signals not just a critical leadership shuffle but also the growing strategic overlap between India’s largest e-commerce and quick commerce players, as they increasingly compete for talent, market share, and speed.