TA Krishnan, the co-founder and former chief executive officer of logistics startup Ecom Express, died on Wednesday after a prolonged illness. He was 60.
He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.
Krishnan co-founded Ecom Express along with Manju Dhawan and K. Satyanarayana in 2012.
As a part of the succession planning, in June, Ecom Express had roped in former Bharti Airtel Ajay Chitkara executive to take the reins. Chitkara took on the role of managing director and chief executive officer on September 1.
“Each one of us at Ecom Express feels truly privileged to have worked with TA Krishnan, the force behind the growth and evolution of the e-commerce logistics industry,” Ecom Express said in a LinkedIn post.
“Beyond business, T.A. Krishnan touched the lives of countless people. His "culture-first" approach shaped the DNA at Ecom Express, which we celebrate every single day,” the company said. “His vision will always be a guiding light to take Ecom Express to newer heights.”
Ecom Express provides technology-enabled logistics services to the e-commerce industry. It claims to serve over 2,700 towns across India and has an employee count of 50,000 employees across 3,000 delivery centres.
“His vision enabled e-commerce to bloom in every town of India – small or big, making parcels delivered at doorsteps of every Indian household.With heavy hearts, we bid farewell to a visionary who shaped the e-commerce landscape in India,” the company added.
In December 2020, Swiss private investment firm Partners Group acquired a substantial stake in Ecom from Warburg Pincus for $250 million, or about Rs 1,840 crore at the time. Warburg Pincus first invested in Ecom in 2015.
In 2021, the company raised $20 million in a follow-on investment round from British International Investment. The UK's development finance institution had earlier invested in Ecom in 2019.
The company was mulling for a public listing in September 2021 at over $2 billion valuation. However, it hasn’t materialised so far.
