Amid Growing Concerns, Byju's CEO Assures Employees Of A Stronger Comeback: Report

According to the report, Byju's Co-founder and CEO Byju Raveendran assured employees of a stronger comeback in an attempt to alleviate any concerns or panic in a townhall on Thursday

Byju Raveendran, the co-founder and CEO of Byju's, addressed his employees in his first official communication following the recent resignations of three board members and auditor Deloitte, reported MoneyControl. According to the report, Raveendran assured employees of a stronger comeback in an attempt to alleviate any concerns or panic. 

Amidst growing woes, Raveendran told employees, “We are in a tough phase, but we will come back soon,” in a 45-minute townhall. 

“Last 12 months we have been struggling. But edtech will stay forever, and we are the pioneers. It is one of the most important sectors and we are in the correct space,” Raveendran added, as per the Moneycontrol report. It also said Raveendran clarified that the board members' resignations were not a result of Deloitte's departure. He expressed gratitude towards all three board members for their support and guidance during their tenure at the company.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the three board members, GV Ravishankar of Sequoia Capital India (Peak XV Partners), Vivian Wu of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Russel Dreisenstock of Prosus, stepped down from their positions due to disagreements with Raveendran. Additionally, the company's auditor Deloitte for Byju's and its subsidiary Aakash also resigned citing a delay in the company's financials for FY22 (2021-22).

According to the report, during the townhall meeting, the chat box was initially disabled, but employees were later provided with an opportunity to post their questions. However, these questions were not immediately addressed, leaving employees with limited clarity regarding layoffs, salary hikes, incentives, and provident fund payments.

However, Raveendran assured employees that the company's discussions with its term loan B lenders, regarding the recent issues, are progressing positively.

“These discussions have taken a significant turn and we will get positive development within weeks,” he said, as per the report. 

Raveendran also expressed his optimism about the edtech sector. He highlighted the enormous potential of the sector, predicting that the edtech market will grow significantly in the long term, potentially doubling in size. Raveendran also mentioned that four out of Byju's six largest acquisitions are currently profitable. He cited the success of Aakash, Great Learning, and Tynker as examples of acquisitions that have been performing well.