Byju’s elevates Jiny Thattil to CTO replacing Anil Goel

Byju’s on Monday informed its shareholders that it has appointed Jiny Thattil to replace outgoing executive Anil Goel as its new chief technology officer.

Thattil had been serving as senior vice president of engineering of Epic, a business acquired by the Bengaluru-headquartered edtech firm.

An internal memo, seen by ET, said Thattil has successfully delivered large-scale consumer products in the company’s overseas markets and that he had led large and geo-distributed engineering teams through various stages of growth and transformation, while also contributing to the post-acquisition integration of various subsidiaries of Byju’s.

Also read | ED issues show cause notice of Rs 9,362 crore to Byju’s for forex violation

“Jiny’s extensive multi-product and multi-geography experience and demonstrated leadership skills make him the ideal candidate for this crucial role, as we continue to rebuild for sustainability. This appointment is part of our ongoing strategic restructuring and reorientation of our leadership team to further enhance operational efficiency,” Byju’s said in the note from its investor relations team.

Later in the day, the company said in a statement that the transition was part of an ongoing restructuring for operational efficiency.

“We are delighted to promote Jiny Thattil as the CTO of Byju’s. His extensive experience and leadership skills make him the ideal candidate for this crucial role as we continue to rebuild for greater efficiency and sustainability,” Arjun Mohan, the India business chief executive said in the statement.

The departure of Goel, who was earlier the CTO of hotel aggregator Oyo, comes as Byju’s restructures its businesses to find financial stability in the face of mounting problems.

Last week, the Enforcement Directorate said it has issued show cause notices to Byju’s’ parent Think & Learn and its chief executive Byju Raveendran for alleged violations of Foreign Exchange Management Act involving an amount of Rs 9,362.35 crore.

Earlier this month, the troubled firm reported its delayed audited financial accounting for the year ended March 2022 – in parts – showing a 2.3 times growth in revenue to Rs 3,569 crore in its core business. Ebitda loss of the core business, financials for which were reported, was down to Rs 2,253 crore in 2021-22, from Rs 2,406 crore in the previous year. The company has yet to make its financials for 2021-22 available to the Registrar of Companies.

The financials were made public after chief financial officer Ajay Goel’s resignation on October 24, after a stint of just about six months stint, to return to mining conglomerate Vedanta.

The delay in furnishing audited 2021-22 financials had been a core cause of concern for the edtech firm’s investors as well as creditors, from whom the firm had raised $1.2 billion in term loan B.

Separately, Byju’s is continuing with its restructuring plans to save costs. It has cut headcount by a third – or at least 4,500 people – in its India business. The most recent round of layoffs came after the appointment of new chief executive Mohan.