Flipkart’s VP Smrithi Ravichandran set to join PE firm Multiples 

Ravichandran will relocate from Bengaluru to Mumbai towards the end of this year as she will work closely with the team

Smrithi Ravichandran, Vice President and Head of Mobiles and Travel at Flipkart, is set to join Multiples Alternate Asset Management, a private equity (PE) player, as she transitions out of her role at the Walmart-owned e-commerce major, people familiar with the developments said.

Ravichandran’s exit from Flipkart has been in the works for several weeks now and her role will be split between two other executives within the company, as Moneycontrol had reported earlier. Ravichandran is moving on from her role as an operator after over 13 years at Flipkart and is set to join Multiples at a time when the private equity firm is growing in size and expanding its operations.

The PE major raised $430 million in a continuation fund earlier this year as it looks to continue betting on its existing portfolio.

Ravichandran will take up an investing role at the PE firm and oversee funding activity, source deals and double down on existing portfolio companies across sectors in her new role.

She will relocate from Bengaluru to Mumbai towards the end of this year as she will work closely with the team, headed by Renuka Ramnath, Founder, Managing Director and CEO of Multiples.

Multiples and Flipkart did not reply to Moneycontrol’s queries.

Earlier this month, Multiples also announced the PE firm, along with a consortium of other investors, was buying out VIP Industries, the world’s second-largest luggage maker, as it looks to unlock the full potential of the business in the absence of a successor, and also to foray into new segments.

As PE firms and other large investors enter new industries, they are increasingly recruiting new talent who advise the company’s management on how to scale, navigate growth challenges and more, largely from an investor’s point of view.

For instance, WestBridge has hired several operating advisers, across sectors like retail, consumer, fintech and more, who work closely with founders and help them in scaling operations. These advisers are seasoned executives who have cut their teeth in a particular sector and now help portfolio companies build more efficiently.

Given Ravichandran’s background and her 13 years at Flipkart, where she led teams across fintech, user growth, customer acquisition and retention, fintech, grocery, travel and others, it is likely that Multiples will also leverage her skillsets to take new acquisitions like VIP and others to their next phase of growth, along with sourcing new deals as the PE landscape in India heats up.