Byju’s move to form a new advisory board and sign Pai and Kumar comes just weeks after three key directors and auditors resigned. Byju’s, one of the world’s most respected education technology companies, has appointed Rajnish Kumar, one of his early backers through Aarin Capital and former National Bank of India, and current Chairman of BharatPe, to its new founding. provided advice and guidance to the Board of Directors Advisory Committee. Tat will support CEO He Byju Raveendran on important issues.
In a July 13 statement, the company said Raviendran invited Pai and Kumar to join a committee known as the Advisory Board and they accepted the role. They will now oversee Laviendran and its board, the company added. “Byju and Divya are one of the nicest entrepreneurs in his ecosystem of startups I have ever worked with. Since our first contact over a decade ago, they have built one of the world’s largest edtech companies and one of India’s largest start-ups. I see in them a drive to grow the group into a successful company and to ensure that it fulfills its mission in this area as a category creator and leader,” Pai said in a statement.
“As a member of the Advisory Board, I look forward to advising leaders on the advancement of governance and financial reporting systems, and building an organizational structure that will provide a stable foundation for the company’s future,” he added.
At an extraordinary shareholder meeting attended by more than 70 shareholders last week, Raviendran proposed the establishment of a board advisory committee to advise and guide the CEO on the composition and governance structure of the board suitable for Byju. bottom. “BAC will function as a working group composed of independent directors with credible backgrounds and relevant experience from different areas of the company,” Ravendran told shareholders at the time. Biju’s move to set up a new advisory board and bring Pai and Kumar to the board was followed by GV Ravishankar of Peak XV Partners (Sequoia Capital India) and Russell Draisenstock of Prosus. , just weeks after three key board members, Chan Zuckerberg’s Vivian Wu, resigned. Raveendran resigns from his Byju’s board of directors in disagreements with founder over initiative. On the same day, Byju’s auditor, Deloitte, one of the world’s largest accounting firms, also resigned, citing “significant delays” in the company’s 2022 financial results.
Byju’s also wants to strengthen its operations. The company previously hired Arjun Mohan, former CEO of upGrad, as CEO of its international operations.
“As the company grows, I miss the governance part,” Kumar said in a phone interview with Money Control. We are now making this happen in the Indian startup ecosystem. Byju has great people and produces great content. Certain things should have been handled better.
“The time spent by the board would have been even longer. Ensuring financial reporting is sound with an appropriate accountability framework. I always believed,” he added.
Kumar also told Money Control that over the past few weeks the company has identified certain areas in need of improvement. Raviendran and Gokurnath are aware that more details are needed, he said. “Management will understand these issues and challenges and come up with an action plan,” he told Money Control.
