3 senior executives quit Byju's amidst restructuring challenges

In yet anor setback for edtech player Byju's, three senior executives, including Chief Business Officer Prathyusha Agarwal, have resigned amidst company's ongoing efforts to restructure and regain stability. Himanshu Bajaj, Business He of Byju's Tuition Centres, and Mukut Deepak, Business He for Classes 4 to 10, are also among executives who have tendered ir resignations, according to media reports. se departures come at a crucial juncture when Byju's is working to overhaul its operations in response to various challenges.

Prathyusha Agarwal, who h joined Byju's in February 2022 from Zee Entertainment Enterprises, brought with her extensive experience as former Chief Consumer and Data Officer at Zee. Himanshu Bajaj h joined Byju's in November 2021 to oversee Byju's Tuition Centres division after a long tenure at management consulting firm Kearney. Mukut Deepak, who h served as Tata Play's Chief Business Officer, h been associated with Byju's for almost two years.

Leership shakeup insight

Sources revealed that resignations stem from recent restructuring carried out by company. Byju's spokesperson confirmed development, highlighting need for restructuring to achieve profitability and sustainable growth. company has consolidated its operations into two key verticals—K-10 (Kindergarten to Class 10) and Exam Preparation. Ramesh Karra is leing K-10 vertical, while Jitesh Shah oversees exam preparation business.

Byju's Tuition Centres, previously considered a pivotal growth engine, underwent changes resulting in redundancy of roles like Prathyusha Agarwal's, leing to her departure. company's core K-12 business has also been affected by se changes. se exits coincide with Byju's efforts to overcome operational hurdles.

This wave of resignations follows departure of Cherian Thomas, Senior Vice President for International Business at Byju's, who played a key role in spearheing company's acquisition of educational gaming platform Osmo in 2019. Despite Osmo's reported revenue of $100 million (approximately Rs 826.71 crore) in fiscal year 2020-21, its leership team has been experiencing significant changes.

Challenges pile up

Byju's has faced a series of challenges in recent times, including exit of three key investor board members due to disagreements with founder Byju Raveendran over operational matters. Deloitte, company's longtime auditor, also resigned citing delays in release of Byju's financial results for fiscal year 2021-22. company has also encountered difficulties with creditors and has undergone a substantial downsizing, letting go of over 2,000 employees and surrendering its largest office space in Bengaluru.

Despite se challenges, Byju's is striving to regain stability by implementing strategic measures, such as forming a board visory council with industry veterans like TV Mohandas Pai and Rajnish Kumar. company is also bringing in experienced professionals, including Richard Lobo, as its new he of human resources. Byju's, once valued at over $22 billion (approximately Rs 1.82 lakh crore), has amassed significant funding and is a prominent player in edtech sector. However, its recent setbacks have prompted need for strategic restructuring to navigate its way forward. company is expected to file its audited earnings for 2022 by September and 2023 results by December, as reported by Reuters.