Food delivery and quick commerce giant Swiggy on Friday announced the appointment of Faraz Khalid, CEO of West Asian e-commerce platform Noon, as an independent director and the exit of two key investor representatives from the board.
“Faraz is among the most visionary leaders in e-commerce, bringing extensive expertise in integrating advanced technology, scaling operations, and delivering superior customer experiences,” said Sriharsha Majety, founder and group CEO of Swiggy, in a statement to stock exchanges.
Khalid’s appointment, subject to shareholder approval, brings valuable international experience to Swiggy’s board. Under his leadership, Noon has evolved from an e-commerce platform into a comprehensive consumer commerce ecosystem encompassing quick commerce and food delivery segments that align closely with Swiggy’s own business strategy. Prior to Noon, Khalid co-founded Namshi, establishing it as a regional fashion leader in West Asia.
Key investors step back
Sumer Juneja, managing partner and head of EMEA & India at SoftBank Investment Advisers, and Anand Daniel, partner at Accel, have resigned from their non-executive director roles, marking the latest in a series of board exits following the company’s public listing last year.
The departures, attributed to “other professional commitments and pre-occupations,” represent a natural progression for Swiggy as it transitions towards a more independent board structure typical of publicly listed companies. This follows the earlier exit of Delhivery’s Sahil Barua from the board earlier this year.
“Non-independent directors Sumer Juneja and Anand Daniel are stepping back from board representation following a period of significant progress and value creation at Swiggy. This transition reflects their confidence in the company’s strategic direction, executive leadership and governance framework,” the company stated in its regulatory filing.
SoftBank portfolio trend
Anand Kripalu, independent director and chairperson of Swiggy, acknowledged the contributions of the departing board members. “We extend our heartfelt thanks to Sumer and Anand for their invaluable contributions. Both have been associated with Swiggy since the early days, and their confidence and counsel have been instrumental in helping the management team build Swiggy into one of India’s most beloved consumer internet brands,” he said.
The board changes reflect a broader trend among SoftBank portfolio companies, with the Japanese investment giant typically relinquishing board representation around the time of initial public offerings (IPOs) or shortly thereafter. Similar transitions have been observed at other SoftBank-backed companies including Meesho, Paytm, and PB Fintech.
