With Jeyandran Venugopal likely to lead Reliance Retail Ventures, the group will utilize his technological skills to drive its retail platforms.
Jeyandran Venugopal, Flipkart’s outgoing Chief Product and Technology Officer, is expected to join Reliance Retail Ventures (RRV) as its Chief Executive Officer, according to an Economic Times report. Venugopal may take charge of Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL) consumer-facing businesses, which handles platforms like Reliance Brands, JioMart, Ajio, Tira, and other online and offline retail ventures.
Reliance Industries’ decision to bring Venugopal on board seems like a part of its retail growth strategy. Venugopal oversaw critical domains like product management, engineering, design, user research, data science, and platform growth during his 8 years tenure of Flipkart. Venugopal’s experience of leading tech at Flipkart can become an ideal fit for Reliance Retail Ventures.
The report further claimed that discussions with Reliance to appoint Jeyandran as CEO of their retail arm are at advanced stages. He is expected to formally join in May after completing his transition from Flipkart, claimed media report, citing sources.
Venugopal’s Journey
Venugopal’ had earlier worked with Myntra, Yahoo, Snapdeal, and Amazon Web Services. At Myntra, he played a big role in transforming its platform to enhance customer experience and innovation. At Flipkart, he led various technology-driven initiatives. He also founded Eclinic247, a consumer healthcare platform, in 2014, which was later acquired by MedLife.
Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy praised Venugopal’s contributions, stating in an internal note, “During his tenure, Jeyandran drove several emerging technology and product innovations, significantly impacting our platform’s growth.”
Reliance Retail Team
Venugopal will join a team of experience leaders at Reliance Retail like
- Vineeth Nair: Head of fashion marketplace Ajio.
- Bhakti Modi: CEO of omnichannel beauty platform Tira.
- Sandeep Varaganti: CEO of JioMart and a former Amazon India executive.
- V Subramaniam: Managing Director of Reliance Retail.
Reliance Retail Ventures is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries which deals in its retail operations. It was valued at around $100 billion two years ago, and recently saw its valuation declining in brokerage after the restructuring phase.