Oyo elevates CEO Aditya Ghosh to board, raises debt finance from Avendus

Budget hospitality chain OYO Hotels & Homes has elevated CEO of India and South Asia, Aditya Ghosh, to the company’s board of directors a year after he joined the company from budget carrier IndiGo .

In the new role, Ghosh will focus on safety and security, customer experience, corporate governance, revenue management and stakeholder communications, according to a statement issued by the company. The company recently appointed Betsy Atkins, founder of Bajaj Corporations as an independent director to its board. 

Rohit Kapoor, CEO of new real estate business at OYO will now take over as CEO of India and South Asia from Ghosh, said the company in the statement. Former executive director at Max Healthcare, Kapoor joined OYO in November 2018. 

“Aditya’s strong business acumen, problem-solving capabilities, passion for building an organisation with strong corporate governance and a high performing work culture that thrives on principles of diversity and inclusion, makes him the perfect choice for this larger and more strategic role, at a global level,” said Ritesh Agarwal, group CEO of OYO in the company statement.

The personnel movements come at a time when OYO Hotels and Homes is set to raise $1.5 billion. Of this, $700 million will be infused by founder Ritesh Agarwal through Cayman Islands registered special purpose vehicle RA Hospitality 

OYO’s joint venture with major investor SoftBank MyPreferred Transformation and Hospitality also raised Rs 50 crore in debt financing from Avendus Finance. The development  was first reported by The Economic Times said that the company will utilise the capital for upgrading and developing assets in the India market. The company operates over 18,000 hotels and 2.7 lakh rooms across India and South Asia.

“We thank Avendus Finance for their confidence in the fundamentals of the business and the

untapped hospitality potential of the Indian market. This infusion will help us continue to scale our ambitions of developing and upgrading quality living spaces for hotels and similar assets, so there is an OYO for every pocket,” said a spokesperson for MyPreferred Transformation and Hospitality in a statement shared by the company.

Last week, Oyo saw its expenses increase five-fold for the fiscal 2018-2019and reported significant losses.