Prosus, a top startup investor in India, has appointed Gautam Thakar, former CEO of OLX Autos, to head its edtech investments as part of an internal restructuring by the Netherlands-based company, which has now split food delivery and edtech into distinct segments.
Thakar will be the CEO of edtech for Prosus, while Roger Rabalais, currently CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Food and COO (Chief Operating Officer) B2C (business-to-consumer), will take on the role of CEO food delivery, the Netherlands-based investors told its teams in an internal memo last week. The reorganisation will be effective from September 1.
"These segments began as early-stage investments that have been diligently grown into world-class portfolios. These segments have continued to scale and grow in recent years, achieving double-digit revenue growth again in the last year. We believe Roger and Gautam are the right leaders to take them to their next stage of growth." Prosus said in the memo.
Thakar and Rabalais will report directly to Bob van Dijk, CEO, Prosus.
Larry Illg, who has been serving as the CEO of the combined division (food delivery and edtech) since its inception, will be stepping down but "will support the transition in an advisory capacity over the coming months, as well as continuing with existing board work," Prosus said.
Thakar, based in Mumbai, will also take on a broader leadership role for Prosus in India, where it has invested about $6 billion to date. Prosus has two decacorns in its portfolio in India--Byju's and Swiggy--in the edtech and food delivery segments. Prosus also holds a significant stake in upskilling edtech unicorn Eruditus.
"Gautam and his team will work alongside both Prosus’s India and global leadership team to play an active role in supporting Prosus’s growth and existing investee companies in India," Prosus said.
Last month, Prosus, also the biggest institutional shareholder in Byju's, slammed the edtech for poor corporate governance saying that the executive leadership at the company regularly disregarded advice and recommendations relating to strategic, operational, legal, and corporate governance matters. Prosus' representative on Byju's board, Russel Dreisenstock, had stepped down in June along with two other investor representatives.
Prosus has also internally marked down the fair value of its stake in Byju's to a fourth, effectively valuing the edtech at $5.1 billion.
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