Exclusive: Flipkart sees more senior-level exits

Homegrown e-commerce company Flipkart has seen fresh senior-level exits at both the flagship marketplace as well as subsidiary online fashion retailer Myntra.

The list includes Myntra's supply chain head and senior vice president Rajul Jain, who was one of the cofounders of lifestyle e-tailer Yebhi.com.

Sharad Agarwal, vice president and distinguished engineer at Flipkart who was heading data strategy, and Raghuram Talluri, vice president and head of customer experience at Myntra, also left the company in December.

Agarwal, Jain and Talluri confirmed their exits to TechCircle. Emails sent to Flipkart and Myntra spokespersons did not elicit a response.

All three are starting their own tech ventures. While Agarwal and Talluri said their startups were on stealth mode and did not divulge details, Jain said he has cofounded NextSCM, a startup focussing on fashion inventory management, where he is also CEO.

Jain cofounded Yebhi.com in 2009 and headed its marketplace, fulfilment centre, logistics and administration for nearly five years. He left Yebhi.com and joined Myntra in April 2014. For his new startup, Jain has joined hands with former Myntra executives Nirmal Jain and Anshuman Agarwal. Romil Jain is another cofounder of the firm.

Sharad Agarwal, who was formerly head of platforms and innovation at InMobi, joined Flipkart in January 2015 and headed its Big Data and data systems functions.

India's consumer internet businesses that have quickly become multi-billion dollar companies are facing growth pangs, and top-level exits have become common. Other unicorns such as Snapdeal and Ola are also struggling to retain senior talent.

Flipkart, the most valued internet business in the country, has seen a series of exits in 2016. Besides CXO-level exits—Flipkart saw its chief product officer, chief financial officer, chief technology officer and chief business officer quit last year—the company has seen a strong churn in the second layer of leadership as well. There has also been a slew of exits at the senior vice president and vice president level.

"It is kind of natural, but not desirable. In the past six months, from a managerial perspective, things have tightened up at Flipkart. Investors have really been pushing the company to get to profitability. A lot of people who were hired in a different environment, they may not be feeling in the best of spirits. So I think, it is part of a natural progression," said Mrigank Gutgutia of RedSeer Consulting.