MakeMyTrip appoints former PepsiCo executive Vipul Prakash as COO

MakeMyTrip Ltd, India's largest online travel services provider, said Tuesday it has hired Vipul Prakash as its new chief operating officer for MakeMyTrip and Goibibo brands.

Prakash had been working with aerated beverages giant PepsiCo for the past 20 years, where he last served as senior vice president of the beverage category for India.

Rajesh Magow, co-founder and India CEO at MakeMyTrip, said the company will benefit from Prakash’s experience, deep understanding of the consumer market and expertise in industry-leading operational practices.

Prakash joined PepsiCo in 1998 and held various positions in marketing and franchise, at sector and global levels. In 2007, he relocated to the US, where he spent three years on the international beverages marketing team. He moved to Dubai in 2010 to head the foods and beverages innovation department for PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and Africa before coming back to India.

Prakash has a post-graduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a mechanical engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

MakeMyTrip competes with the likes of Yatra and Cleartrip. Last month, MakeMyTrip reported higher revenue and a narrower loss for the second quarter of the financial year 2018-19.

Adjusted revenue for the quarter ended September surged 25.3% in constant currency terms to $160.1 million from $139.2 million a year earlier.

Adjusted operating loss shrank to $25.37 million from $32.79 million. Adjusted net loss, which takes into account share-based compensation costs of employees, income tax and other things, narrowed to $32.39 million from $45.18 million.

The company’s adjusted revenue from the air ticketing business increased almost 31% in constant currency to $56.5 million. Revenue from the hotels and packages business, the biggest contributor to total revenue, climbed about 18% to $85.5 million.

In July, MakeMyTrip invested in travel-focussed tech startup Bitla Software Pvt. Ltd.