Edtech unicorn Vedantu Innovations Pvt Ltd has roped in Pankaj Jain, a former PwC executive, as the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Vedantu said in a statement on Thursday.
Jain will be in charge of handling Vedantu’s business finance and will be reporting to the company’s Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Vamsi Krishna, the company said. He will be responsible for building and managing a team at Vedantu, and will plan financials across each vertical of the business, Vedantu said.
“We are thrilled to welcome Pankaj to Vedantu’s leadership team. His deep financial experience will be an asset to the company which will further strengthen our overall efficiencies and drives impact at scale. I welcome Pankaj to Vedantu and trust that his leadership background will be the right kind of expertise that Vedantu will need to succeed in all spheres,” said Krishna.
Jain, who has worked for more than 25 years in the finance industry, is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and a member of the Institute of Cost Accountant of India (ICWA). He has worked with companies such as Ibibo Group, PwC, and Corning Incorporated. Jain was a part of the founding team in Ibibo before joining Vedantu. During his stint at Ibibo, he worked on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and had an important role to play in the acquisition of RedBus by Ibibo, and the consolidation of MakeMyTrip in 2016-17, Vedantu said.
“It gives me immense pleasure as I kickstart the new year with Vedantu. In my current role, I intend
to create a finance structure that will actualize this vision and envision new plans to drive the company’s growth to the next level. I look forward to being part of Vedantu’s mission to create accessible and affordable education for every child in the country,” said Jain.
Vedantu, in November, had announced a buyback programme for employee stock options worth $3 million. The company’s top leadership and active employees, who had completed the vesting period for their stock options, are eligible for the programme.
Vedantu had joined the unicorn club last year, becoming the fifth edtech unicorn or private company with over $1 billion valuation, when it raised $100 million in a Series E funding round led by Singapore-based impact investor ABC World Asia. The company also counts Tiger Global Management, Accel, and WestBridge Capital, among others as its backers.