Top-Level Rejig In Ola; CEO Bhavish Aggarwal To Focus More On Engineering, Arun Kumar To Head Operations

Ola, which was planning to launch an IPO this year, now plans to raise a new funding round at a lower valuation

Bhavish Aggarwal said G R Arun will work with all its leaders across teams to drive our key metrics, lead reviews across businesses, and key cross-team projects, making him the most powerful executive after the CEO. Image: AFP

New Delhi: There is a change of guard in Ola.

Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the SoftBank-backed ride-hailing firm, will step back from day-to-day operations of the company, according to a report by Moneycontrol.

Aggarwal has decided to focus more on engineering, team building, and products, apart from looking on long-term strategic projects such as two-wheelers, cars, and innovations in quick commerce and global expansion.

He will be replaced by G R Arun Kumar, group chief financial officer (CFO) of Ola and Ola Electric, who joined the firm less than a year ago. Arun will now drive day-to-day operations across the group, according to the report. The top-level rejig comes at a time when the company is in talks for a fresh round of funding.

Aggarwal has sent an internal note to employees on April 11 as Ola Electric scooters have come under fire over quality issues. 

According to the note, Aggarwal said, “To drive scale, speed, and quality, we need to execute with deep attention to detail and every team has to work together in sync with everyone else. And in parallel, we need to keep innovating into new and exciting opportunities so as to have a larger impact. I’ll be spending more time with all engineering functions, team building, and on product. I’ll also be increasing my focus on our longer-term strategic projects, including new 2W products, our car project, innovations in quick commerce, electrifying ride-hailing, our cell R&D and factory, international expansion, and building out our Pune tech center and the Futurefoundry UK, and more.”

He also said, “To ensure that we have adequate focus on the execution of the current businesses, I am expanding Arun G R’s role to help me drive the day-to-day operations across the group.”

“Arun joined Ola a year ago and through the last year, he’s been extremely impactful. As CFO, leading the entire manufacturing, supply chain, S&OP, construction for Ola Electric, working with everyone across mobility, auto retail, quick commerce and also running OFS as interim CEO, he has been very effective,” he added.

Aggarwal said Arun will work with all its leaders across teams to drive our key metrics, lead reviews across businesses, and key cross-team projects effectively, making him the most powerful executive after the CEO.

Ola, which was planning to launch an IPO this year, now plans to raise a new funding round at a lower valuation. Aggarwal had said that Ola plans to go public in the first half of 2022 at a Reuters Next conference in December last year.

It has also acquired Avail Finance, a firm promoted by Aggarwal's younger brother Ankush Aggarwal, a move that has raised red flags on governance and probity.

Ola was last valued at $7.3 billion when it raised $139 million in its Series J round, led by Edelweiss PE, IIFL, and Sunil Munjal-led Hero Enterprises, in what seemed like the last round of funding before its IPO. Before the $139 million, it raised $500 million from Warburg Pincus and Temasek, giving early backers Tiger and Matrix a part exit in the company.

Aggarwal also outlined plans to create a super app that would offer not just mobility but also loans and micro-insurance.

Ola has also been investing heavily in its instant grocery delivery business, Ola Dash, as it seeks to build services beyond ride-hailing services. Uber, its global rival, earns more from food delivery than its core taxi business.

Ola has also seen a spate of exits recently, including its Chief Financial Officer Swayam Saurabh, Chief Operating Officer Gaurav Porwal, HR Head Rohit Munjal, and General Counsel Sandeep Chowdhury.