Bengaluru: Flipkart-owned online fashion retailer Myntra has named former Amazon executive Jeyandran Venugopal as its new chief technology officer (CTO), replacing Ajit Narayanan, who has resigned from the company.
Venugopal becomes Myntra’s third CTO in less than a year—before Narayanan took over the role in November last year, Shamik Sharma was Myntra’s technology chief.
Myntra also said that it had hired five senior engineers recently, including an architect, from companies such as Ola and Intuit to strengthen its core technology team.
The appointments come at a time when Myntra is looking to accelerate its pace of growth, while also driving towards it target of achieving profitability by the end of the 2017-18 financial year.
Prior to joining Myntra, Venugopal was heading his own start-up called Eclinic247, which helps consumers find and consult doctors online. Venugopal was also one of the founding members of Amazon’s first offshore development centre in India that was set up in Bengaluru in 2004. Venugopal has also briefly worked at rival online marketplace Snapdeal as a technology advisor and as a senior engineering leader at Yahoo.
“Jeyandran joins us at a crucial phase when Myntra is treading firmly on its path to profitability. We have always laid emphasis on having a strong leadership and his appointment brings that to the fore. Jeyandran has to his credit, years of experience in the field of technology, with a proven track record that further reinforces our commitment to provide unmatched service to our customers,” said Myntra chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan in a statement.
Venugopal’s appointment also comes at a time when Myntra is betting big on technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve and further personalize the shopping experience for new-age, tech-savvy consumers.
On Monday, Mint reported that Myntra had forged brand partnerships with two women’s apparel brands, Chemistry and AKS, as part of its brand accelerator programme, from which Myntra is aiming at roughly $500 million in gross sales from up to 15 such brands over the next three years.