Walmart ‘Accepts’ Binny Bansal’s Resignation; Says ‘Personal Misconduct’ Was The Reason
The legacy of Bansals in Flipkart ends. Forever.
And, the legacy of Bansals inside Flipkart vanishes, forever.
In a twist of events, Binny Bansal, one of the co-founders of Flipkart has resigned from his current post of CEO of Flipkart Group. And Walmart has promptly accepted his resignation as well.
In a press release, Walmart announced this news.
Walmart said, “Binny has been an important part of Flipkart since co-founding the company, but recent events risked becoming a distraction and Binny has made a decision to step down.”
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But Why Did He Resign?
As per the press release from Walmart, this extreme step was taken due to ‘personal misconduct’ of Binny Bansal.
It seems that some issues or events had happened, which we are not aware of. Most probably, this event or incident happened after Walmart’s $16 billion acquisition of Flipkart in May this year, which was hailed as the world’s largest ecommerce deal.
Walmart has described this as ‘allegation of serious personal misconduct.’
Now, the interesting thing: Walmart carried an internal investigation about this issue of personal misconduct, but found nothing.
However, due to ‘lapse in judgement’ from Binny Bansal, and ‘lack of transparency’, Walmart has accepted Binny’s resignation from the company.
Walmart said, “While the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant’s assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in judgment, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how Binny responded to the situation. Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign.”
As per Walmart’s press release, Binny Bansal has denied all allegations of personal misconduct.
What Next For Walmart & Flipkart
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who was the CEO of Flipkart, has been given the additional responsibility of Myntra and Jabong as well.
Ananth Narayanan, who is the CEO of Myntra and Jabong will continue as CEO but now, he will report to Kalyan. Meanwhile Sameer Nigam will continue to lead PhonePe.
Both Sameer and Kalyan will report directly to the Board.
Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong and PhonePe will continue to operate as separate business units.
What About Binny Bansal?
In their press release, Walmart has said that Binny was thinking about a change for some time. Now, it seems that has finally happened.
Walmart said, “Binny has been contemplating a transition for some time and we have been working together on a succession plan, which has now been accelerated.”
Binny Bansal had a stake of 4.24% in Flipkart, which, at the time of valuation was worth $881 million. And during the acquisition, he sold his partial stake worth $104 million.
Sachin Bansal, who was the other co-founder of Flipkart had already sold his 5.5% stake amounting to $1 billion, and have made the exit.
Binny Bansal had decided to stay on as CEO of the Flipkart Group, but now, with his sudden ‘resignation’, the legacy of Bansals end in Flipkart.
Our Opinion
Without much information, it is hard to make an opinion, especially on this sensitive case.
However, during the talks of Walmart’s acquisition, and even after that, we had received reports that Walmart is not happy with the presence of either co-founder in the company.
When Sachin Bansal quit, reports emerged that Walmart wanted only one co-founder on-board. But now, it seems that Walmart didn’t want any of the co-founders.
Besides, exactly what allegations of ‘personal misconduct’ were made, is also not clear.
Several unanswered questions still remain on this sudden development.
We will keep you updated, as we receive more information.
Do share your opinions by commenting right here.
