Flipkart Group CEO Binny Bansal quits over \'serious personal misconduct\' charges

Flipkart Group CEO Binny Bansal quits over 'serious personal misconduct' charges

Press Trust of India  |  New Delhi 

Group and Tuesday resigned following a probe into an alleged "serious personal misconduct", the firm's new parent said.

His decision to step down follows an independent investigation done on behalf of and Walmart, even though the probe "did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant's assertions against Binny", it said.

While the statement did not provide details of the "personal misconduct" allegations against Bansal, sources indicated that the complainant was associated with a few years ago and is now running her own venture.

This, however, could not be independently ascertained.

The statement pointed out that the "deliberate and thorough" investigation "did reveal other lapses in judgement, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how responded to the situation. Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign".

Bansal's resignation as the of is with immediate effect. He was serving as the Group after Walmart's mega USD 16 billion investment in the Bengaluru-based company.

Sachin Bansal, the other (not related to Binny), had left Flipkart after selling his entire 5.5 per cent stake to as part of the deal.

Walmart's statement said the recent events "risked becoming a distraction for the company" and had made a decision to step down.

The statement pointed out that Binny had been contemplating a transition for some time and that the company (Walmart) had been working together on a succession plan, which has now been accelerated.

Kalyan Krishnamurthy will continue to be CEO of Flipkart, which will now include and Jabong, continuing to operate as separate platforms within the Flipkart business, the statement said.

Ananth Narayanan will continue as CEO of and Jabong and will report to Krishnamurthy. will continue to head PhonePe -- Flipkart's payments unit -- as CEO.

Both Krishnamurthy and Nigam will report directly to the board, said.

"We remain committed to investing for the long-term and are supportive of the leadership team's desire to evolve into a publicly-traded company in the future," it added.

In an internal email, Krishnamurthy sought to assuage employee concerns stating that "there will be no changes in our operating processes, or to the mission of the company as a result of this news".

"Flipkart will continue to invest heavily in supply chain, innovation and technology, with a focus on optimising operations, and empowering employees... For Flipkart to keep succeeding, it is crucial for our teams to thrive, and we will continue to do everything possible to ensure you are given the opportunity to do just that," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Tue, November 13 2018. 18:50 IST