upGrad Faces Top-Level Exits During Unacademy Integration Ahead of IPO

Several high-ranking executives at the Ronnie Screwvala-backed company upGrad are planning to leave or already left, including CFO Venkatesh Tarakkad and upGrad Enterprise CEO Srikanth Iyengar. The departure of Tarakkad was unexpected since he was in charge of group-level finance, governance, and compliance.

The timing of his departure couldn't be worse, as upGrad was just getting its act together in anticipation of an IPO. He came to upGrad after leading the IPO and listing of TCNS Clothing Co. Ltd. while serving as group CFO there and as chief financial officer at logistics provider Ecom Express.

upGrad Witnessing Spree of Departures

Sunita Mohanty, president and chief revenue officer, India, at upGrad Enterprise, is among the senior executives who have left the company alongside Tarakkad and Iyengar. She was not the only executive to go from the company; AVP of finance at upGrad B2C Shantanu Gupta, director of legal at upGrad B2C Naasha Cama, and AVP of technology at upGrad B2C Reetesh Chandra all resigned.

Although Mohanty and the company have yet to address media enquiries, Tarakkad, Gupta, Cama, Chandra, and Iyengar have all announced their departures. Iyengar is leaving his position as head of Grad Enterprise, the company's business-focused skilling arm, at a time when the unit is undergoing a strategic shift. After serving in executive capacities at QA Ltd, Conduent, Capgemini, IGATE, and Infosys, Iyengar took over as CEO of upGrad Enterprise in 2022.

upGrad Going Through Challenging Times

The departures have occurred at a delicate moment for upGrad, as the company is attempting to integrate Unacademy while also streamlining operations and repositioning certain areas of the business. Additionally, the company is now investigating potential acquisitions, which could involve some of Byju's holdings. The company is seeking to generate $350–400 million through an initial public offering (IPO) by 2027.

Media reports indicate that upGrad has agreed to acquire Unacademy in an all-stock agreement. The sale is projected to value Unacademy at approximately $245 million, or INR 2,055 crore, which is a decrease of more than 90% from its peak valuation in 2021. Management changes are noticeable as upGrad plans a merger, gets regulatory approvals, reorganises internally, and is ready to go public. upGrad Enterprise offers skilling and training programmes for businesses, allowing them to fill skill gaps with courses designed specifically for their industry.

Rather than only providing generic modules, the unit often collaborates with clients to design unique courses for certain teams or departments. In India, however, demand is concentrated among manufacturing and information technology enterprises, making scaling the business a challenge. Moreover, data science, big data, and AI courses usually have the highest demand in India.