Former SEBI chief Ajay Tyagi joins OYO parent PRISM board ahead of planned IPO

Former SEBI chief Ajay Tyagi

PRISM, the travel technology company and parent of OYO, has appointed former Ajay Tyagi as an independent director, strengthening its board at a time when the company is preparing to tap public markets.

Tyagi, who served as chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) from 2017 to 2022, brings decades of experience in capital-markets regulation, financial-sector policy and governance. Prior to SEBI, he was Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, where he handled capital markets, investment policy, infrastructure financing and bankruptcy-law reforms.

IPO push gathers pace

The board appointment comes amid PRISM’s ongoing efforts to go public. The company has filed confidential draft papers with SEBI to raise up to Rs 6,650 crore through an initial public offering, Moneycontrol reported earlier.

The proposed issue is entirely a fresh equity raise and could value the company at about $7–8 billion, marking a renewed attempt to list after shelving earlier plans amid global market volatility.

Board adds policy and market expertise

Tyagi joins an existing board that includes William Steve Albrecht, professor of accountancy at Utah State University; Troy Matthew Alstead, former CFO and group president at Starbucks; Padma Shri awardee Deepa Malik; Lightspeed partner Bejul Somaia; SoftBank Investment Advisers Managing Partner Sumer Juneja; and Aditya Ghosh, co-founder of Akasa Air.

Commenting on the appointment, founder Ritesh Agarwal said Tyagi’s experience in regulation, governance and public-institution stewardship would support PRISM’s efforts to scale while strengthening accountability.

“Ajay ji brings depth in capital-markets regulation, governance, and public-institution stewardship, and his experience will be invaluable as PRISM strives to scale while strengthening governance standards and long-term accountability," he said.

The induction reflects a broader shift among late-stage new-age companies to bring regulatory and governance expertise onto boards as they transition from private capital to public-market scrutiny.