Karthik Gupta, chief financial officer (CFO) of Ola Mobility, has quit the company just seven months after joining the firm.
An Ola spokesperson told FE that Gupta’s move is part of the ongoing restructuring exercise underway at the company. “This restructuring is aimed at productivity enhancement in an AI-led era that is redefining the cab-hailing industry globally. The exercise will allow Ola to strengthen cost structures, focus on growth and increase its bottom line,” said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson added: “In FY23, Ola generated a revenue of Rs 1,987 crore on a positive Ebitda of Rs 250 crore and achieved profitability with a profit before tax of Rs 171 crore.”
Gupta’s exit also comes amid a series of high-level departures at the IPO-bound firm, including the resignation of Ola Cabs’ CEO Hemant Bakshi just four months into his tenure.
As part of the restructuring exercise, the company had earlier announced that it would be letting go of at least 10% of the workforce to “streamline operations” and “enhance efficiency”.
Founded in 2010, Ola Cabs secured early backing from prominent investors such as SoftBank and Tiger Global. However, the company has recently scaled back its international operations, citing rising competition, the governments’ fleet electrification targets and a strategic shift towards the domestic market.
As part of the restructuring efforts, Ola has onboarded co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal’s brother, Ankush Aggarwal, into the ride-hailing business as a member of the CXO team, alongside chief business officer Sidharth Shakdher. In an internal email dated April 29, Bhavish Aggarwal acknowledged the need for certain roles to become redundant due to substantial investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and technology, which have led to significant cost advantages.
Gupta, who joined Ola Cabs seven months ago, oversaw financial strategy, growth initiatives, regulatory compliance, taxation, treasury operations and investor relations, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to his stint at Ola, Gupta served as the vice president and regional CFO for Asia Pacific, West Asia and Africa at Procter & Gamble for nearly 17 years.
Ola Cabs recently initiated preliminary discussions with investment banks for an IPO. Meanwhile, Ola Electric filed a draft red herring prospectus with the market regulator in December, seeking to raise around Rs 7,250 crore through an IPO, marking the first attempt at public listing by an domestic electric vehicle firm.
ANI Technologies, the parent entity encompassing Ola Fleet, Ola Financial Services, Ola Cabs and Ola Stores, recorded a consolidated revenue of Rs 2,799 crore, marking a year-on-year growth of nearly 42%, despite a decline in revenue from Ola Fleet and Ola Financial Services.
