SoftBank-backed hospitality company Oyo saw two key resignations earlier this year in March 2023, at a time when the company is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO).
Ankit Gupta, chief executive officer and Mandar Vaidya, head – Europe, Oyo stepped down six months ago, an Oyo spokesperson told VCCircle.
Gupta, who is leaving Oyo to start his own company, is still helping Oyo with the transition, said a person aware of the matter, adding that his startup is currently in stealth, and he is likely to make a formal announcement about his venture in a few months.
Oyo is yet to appoint a new India CEO and Europe head. However, both the roles were already transitioned six months ago to Varun Jain, as chief operating officer of Indian operations, and Gautam Swaroop, as CEO of Oyo Vacation Homes, respectively.
Both Gupta and Vaidya had joined Oyo from business consulting and services firm McKinsey & Company in 2019. The former had joined the company as a COO and senior vice president of Frontier Business and was promoted to the position of India CEO in March last year. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
On the other hand, Vaidya was hired as CXO for Southeast Asia and the Middle East and was promoted to CEO for the Europe division in April 2021. He is an alumnus of Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.
Oyo, which had initially submitted a pre-IPO filing document in September 2021, submitted a new confidential filing in March after market regular Sebi had asked to refile the draft red herring prospectus with updates and revisions.
The confidential filing option provides the company with the flexibility to adjust the issue size until an updated filing is submitted to the market regulator.
Oyo, which was founded in 2012 by Ritesh Agarwal, primarily provides affordable hotel options to travellers. At present, the company has operations in four regions: India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Europe, where it manages vacation homes.