BENGALURU: Edtech firm Byju’s tuition chain Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) has appointed Deepak Mehrotra as its Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). This comes at a pivotal moment for AESL and the edtech firm as well.
Prior to joining AESL, he was the Managing Director at Ashirvad pipes. He has also worked at Pearson India, Bharti Airtel, Coca-Cola, and Asian Paints. Though there was speculation earlier that the promoter of the coaching firm Aakash Chaudhry will return, but the edtech company had dropped plans and announced the new CEO appointment on Monday.
Byju’s acquired Aakash for $950 million in April 2021 and in November last year Ranjan Pai, Manipal Education and Medical Group Chairman, invested Rs 1,400 crore in AESL to clear the edtech firm’s debt to investment management firm Davidson Kempner. Pai owns about 40% in Aakash.
The appointment of Deepak Mehrotra is part of AESL’s vision to enhance its offerings and expand its reach, Byju’s said in a statement. Mehrotra emphasised the importance of leveraging technology and modern teaching methodologies to enhance the learning experience for students across the country.
Byju Raveendran, founder & Chairman of Byju’s, said, “As we enter the next phase of growth, it’s our pleasure to welcome Deepak to lead AESL. In his role as CEO, he will be responsible to deliver on our aggressive growth plan and to build on the significant momentum the company is currently experiencing.”