Ronnie Screwvala-led upGrad CEO Arjun Mohan steps down

Ronnie Screwvala-led higher edtech platform upGrad's chief executive officer (CEO) Arjun Mohan has quit the unicorn to explore outside opportunities as the company transitions its leadership structure to focus more on profitability.

upGrad will not be replacing Mohan and Mayank Kumar, co-founder and managing director of upGrad will be taking over Mohan's responsibilities, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. upGrad has moved into a 'business unit structure' and there are leaders under Mohan who would look after profit and loss accounts of various such units, the person said.

Mohan confirmed the development of his departure. According to a statement shared by him with Moneycontrol, his last working day will be January 15.  Queries sent to upGrad remained unanswered.

"I’m thankful to upGrad leadership, especially Ronnie, Mayank & Phalgun to have trusted me with this responsibility and given an opportunity to lead the team during the high growth phase of COVID and post Covid. And I’m proud of the team we have built at upGrad and am confident that I’m leaving the organisation in able hands for its next phase of growth and profitability," Mohan said in the statement.

"I am currently in an exploration phase and figuring out next steps as in if I will join an organisation or start something of my own. One thing I’m clear is that I want to continue working in edtech and education. We started off our work in edtech with an audacious aim of making education in India accessible, affordable and high quality and I think still there is a lot of work left there. So, I plan to continue this work and make a difference," he added.

News agency Reuters first reported the development saying that the move came as upGrad was trying to cut marketing costs and become profitable.

Moneycontrol reported in November that upGrad's loss had widened to Rs 626.61 crore in FY22 (2021-22) on a consolidated basis from Rs 211.1 crore a year earlier. However, the company reported a 2x jump in its operating revenue to Rs 679.2 crore for FY22.

Founded in 2015 by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli, upGrad runs a higher education platform for working professionals. The company has raised more than $400 million in equity to date and counts Singapore's Temasek Group, IFC Asset Management, James Murdoch's Lupa Systems among others as its backers.

upGrad raised one of India's largest edtech funding rounds of $210 million in August last year. The fundraise saw upGrad's valuation soaring to $2.25 billion.