Two weeks after Aditya Mangla officially took over as CEO of Zomato, the parent company Eternal, has offered a closer look at the philosophy driving the leadership change. The food delivery firm is operating under a “Rotational Leadership” model, where the CEO role in each business is held for a fixed term—typically two years.
“Rotational Leadership is not about changing faces; it changes how decisions get made,” the company stated in their Q1 report, which led Zomato before Mangla’s appointment. “Leaders move with urgency, knowing their window to create impact is finite. It reduces complacency, accelerates execution, and allows more diverse leadership styles to emerge.”
Rotational Leadership
The model, the report explained, is designed to foster agility in execution while building long-term organisational resilience. “It mitigates succession risk, decentralises execution, and future-proofs the organisation. It forces clarity in systems and builds companies that are led by principles, not personalities.”
The report further noted that the model is not universally applicable. “Rotational Leadership is not something that can be used for all companies at all points in time,” the company said, outlining that it works best when companies have achieved product-market fit and operate in fast-changing markets where fresh leadership can make a difference. He added that it is not suited for early-stage or crisis-mode companies.
Zomato, as per the company, is currently the only Eternal business where this model has been put into practice. “Within Eternal, different businesses fit into different moulds. Only Zomato is at a point where rotational leadership makes sense to us so far.”
Aditya Mangla
Mangla, who joined Zomato over four years ago, has held key roles across product, supply, and customer experience. “This is the first time in the 17-year history of Zomato that someone from product/engineering is leading the business (outside of me, of course),” Goyal said. “I am super excited to see how Aditya shapes the future of Zomato over the next two years, until it is time to hand over the baton to someone else.”
The move is part of Eternal’s broader push to groom technology-first operators and build a deeper leadership pipeline. “This is already in motion, not just at the top, but across levels,” it added.