Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, announced that founder Deepinder Goyal will step down as Group CEO and Managing Director from February 1. Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa will take over as the new Group CEO, while Goyal will transition to the role of Vice Chairman to pursue new ventures outside the company’s core business
Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal quits as Eternal Group CEO. File Pic
Eternal, the parent entity of Blinkit and Zomato, on Wednesday said Deepinder Goyal will step down as its Group CEO and Managing Director with Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa set to succeed him as Group CEO from February 1.
Goyal, in a letter to shareholders said he is stepping down from his current position to pursue new ideas that involve a "significantly higher-risk exploration" and will transition to the role of Vice Chairman.
Eternal informed exchanges that the appointment of Goyal as Vice Chairman & Director on the board will be effective upon shareholders' approval for a five-year term.
In the letter Goyal explained the reason behind his resignation saying of late he found himself "drawn to a set of new ideas that involve significantly higher-risk exploration and experimentation".
"These are the kinds of ideas that are better pursued outside a public company like Eternal. If these ideas belonged inside Eternal's strategic scope, I would have pursued them within the company. They do not," he said.
Goyal has been branching out and investing in other areas unrelated to the core business of Eternal, which owns Zomato and Blinkit.
Last year, he announced that he would invest USD 25 million to expand his venture 'Continue Research' that aims to support research in health and longevity.
He had also invested USD 20 million in LAT Aerospace, a startup cofounded by ex-Zomato COO Surobhi Das.
Eternal deserves to remain focused, and disciplined, while exploring new areas of growth that are relevant to its current line of business, Goyal said.
He added that while he believes he has the bandwidth to continue what he is doing at Eternal, and also explore new ideas outside of it, the expectations, legal and otherwise, of a public company CEO in India demand singular focus.
"This transition allows Eternal to remain sharply focused, while giving me the space to explore ideas that do not fit Eternal's risk profile," he further stated.
Goyal shared that as the new Group CEO of Eternal, the centre of gravity for operating decisions moves to Albinder Dhindsa.
"As Group CEO, he (Albinder) will own day-to-day execution, operating priorities, and business decisions," Goyal said, adding that Blinkit remains Eternal's "largest growth opportunity".
Goyal informed shareholders that his financial future remains meaningfully tied to Eternal, and incentives remain aligned with long-term shareholder value creation.
"As part of this transition, all of my unvested ESOPs will revert to the ESOP pool. This ensures that Eternal continues to have meaningful wealth-creation opportunities for its next generation of leaders, while strengthening long-term retention without incremental shareholder dilution," he stated.
Sharing his vision for Eternal, Goyal stated, "I want Eternal to become India's most valuable company. I want us to serve a billion customers. I want us to create the most positive impact on society. I want us to be the source of livelihoods for millions of Indians. None of that changes".
The parent entity of Zomato and Blinkit, among other businesses, was re-branded as Eternal last year. It was co-founded by Goyal in 2008, initially as a restaurant discovery platform called Foodiebay in Delhi, providing menus and reviews, before rebranding to Zomato in 2010.
Zomato listed on the stock exchanges in 2021, re-branded to Eternal last year to reflect its expansion beyond the food delivery business to quick commerce (Blinkit); Hyperpure (B2B supplies); District (ticketing, dining out, etc.), among others.
"Eighteen years ago, the idea that a menu scanning company could be worth tens of billions of dollars, provide livelihoods to hundreds of thousands of people, and serve millions of families daily would have seemed absurd. We helped prove it was possible. And there's a lot in store for Eternal to do over the next few decades," Goyal said in the shareholders' letter.
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