 "Kartik Gupta, CFO, ANI Group, Ola")
Kartik Gupta, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of ANI Technologies, the parent company of ride-hailing service Ola Cabs, has stepped down, according to sources. Gupta’s resignation comes two weeks after Ola Cabs' Chief Executive Officer Hemant Bakshi quit.
“As part of an ongoing restructuring, Ola Mobility CFO Kartik Gupta has stepped down from the company. This restructuring is aimed at productivity enhancement in an AI-led era that is redefining the cab-hailing industry globally. The restructuring will allow Ola to strengthen cost structures, focus on growth and increase its bottom line,” an Ola spokesperson confirmed. “In financial year 2023, Ola generated a revenue of Rs 1,987 crore. During the same period, Ola reported a positive EBITDA of Rs 250 crore and achieved profitability—a Profit before tax of Rs 171 crore.”
An alumnus of IIT Bombay and IIM Lucknow, Gupta joined Ola Cabs seven months ago. He was responsible for financial strategy, top and bottom-line growth, cost optimization, vendor negotiations, tax and treasury management, and investor relations.
Before joining Ola, Gupta worked as the Vice President and Regional CFO of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa at Procter and Gamble for over 17 years.
IPO-bound Ola Cabs is witnessing senior-level exits. Hemant Bakshi, CEO of ANI Technologies, the parent company of ride-hailing service Ola Cabs, recently resigned after four months in this role. The departure of Bakshi, a former senior Unilever executive, coincides with a restructuring exercise at the company that will impact at least 10 per cent of the 1,800-strong workforce, sources said.
Ola recently moved founder Bhavish Aggarwal’s brother Ankush Aggarwal, back to the ride-hailing business Ola Cabs as part of the senior leadership or CXO team. The other team members included Gupta and Chief Business Officer Sidharth Shakdher.
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Ola Cabs is planning an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to raise $500 million, valuing the company at approximately $5 billion. The company plans to file the necessary paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Board of India within the next three months, according to sources.
Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder, Chairman, and Managing Director of Ola, in a letter to the employees, said that in line with the company’s vision to serve one billion Indians and drive sustainable growth and efficiency in the organisation, the company is undergoing a restructuring exercise to improve profitability.
Recently, Ola Cabs decided to exit all of its international markets, including the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, and focus on the Indian market and growing its electric vehicle (EV) fleet. It said that the ride-hailing business is growing rapidly in India, where they are profitable and are segment leaders. Ola Cabs has been operating in these international markets since 2018.
Earlier this year, Ola announced that its India mobility business turned EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) positive in financial year 2023, making it one of the few Indian internet companies to achieve this feat.
