After 8 years being at the helm of Flipkart as CEO, Sachin Bansal has stepped down to take on the role of Executive Chairman. It will now be Binny Bansal, the other co-founder, who will take on the mantle of the new CEO of Flipkart. Binny was previously the COO of the company. Sachin will continue to be the Chairman of the Board.
It has been a dream run for the 2 co-founders, who started Flipkart about 9 years back from their small koramangala office in Bangalore – which has now become a behemoth and a light house eCommerce company in India.
Flipkart has till now raised close to USD 3.2 Billion in Funding with a rough valuation of whopping 100,000 Crore (USD 15 billion). Here is the funding chart that shows how Flipkart has raised funds over last few years.
After nearly 8 years being a CEO, it is probably fitting for Sachin Bansal to pass on the baton to Binny who can bring on new ideas and initiatives to drive Flipkart on next phase of growth.
The Roles
In his role as Executive Chairman of Flipkart, Sachin Bansal will provide strategic direction for Flipkart, mentor the senior leadership of the company and look for new investment opportunities. He will play an active role in championing the Indian e-commerce sector and building the internet ecosystem, and represent the company in external forums.
Binny as CEO will now be responsible for operationally driving the company and will be accountable for Flipkart’s overall performance. All the business areas – Commerce, Ekart and Myntra will now report to Binny. All Corporate functions including Human Resources, Finance, Legal, Corporate Communications and Corporate Development will also report to Binny.
The Speak
Sachin Bansal said, “E-commerce in India is going through its most exciting phase and Flipkart has played a pioneering role in shaping this very remarkable journey. We believe that Flipkart can play a transformational role in improving commerce in India and improve the quality of lives of millions of people across the farthest corners of the country. In this next phase of the journey, it will be our endeavour to fulfil this responsibility and prove that India can produce a world class internet company that can outshine any global behemoth. We also want to continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the internet and the commerce ecosystem of India.”
Binny Bansal said, “At Flipkart, we have come a long way in our eight year journey. Today, we are in a very strong leadership position with over 60% market share of the m-commerce market, 50 million customers and clear leadership in smartphones and fashion. The journey ahead is equally exciting and challenging. Flipkart has all the necessary ingredients of brilliant talent and great technology to win this next phase as well. We will continue to build world-class customer experience, expand our supply chain infrastructure to reach all parts of India, drive innovations in mobile commerce and bring in disruptive technologies”
Best of luck to both of them in their new roles and hope Flipkart reaches even bigger heights!