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Tag: Deepinder Goyal

  • Zomato co-founder Gaurav Gupta moves on

    Zomato co-founder Gaurav Gupta moves on

    Mumbai: Gaurav Gupta, one of the key executives of food tech platform Zomato has moved on from the company.

    Gupta, who joined Zomato in 2015, was head of supply at the food delivery company. In 2018, he was elevated to the position of chief operating officer and later designated as co-founder in 2019. He had played a crucial role in the company’s landmark initial public offering (IPO).

    “I am taking a new turn in my life and will be starting a new chapter, taking a lot from this defining chapter of my life — the last 6 years at Zomato,” Gupta told executives at Zomato in an email, as per the company’s blog.

    His departure comes just days after Zomato exited its grocery delivery and nutraceutical business. The company had ventured into the nutraceutical business last year with the launch of health and fitness products.

    Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal confirmed Gupta’s exit on Twitter. “Thank you Gaurav Gupta—the last six years have been amazing and we have come very far. There’s so much of our journey still ahead of us, and I am thankful that we have a great team and leadership to carry us forward,” he wrote.

  • Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal joins magicpin board

    Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal joins magicpin board

    MUMBAI: IPO-bound Zomato’s co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal has joined the board of magicpin, as an independent director. Founded by Anshoo Sharma & Brij Bhushan, and backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Waterbridge and Samsung, magicpin is a savings app that connects hyperlocal merchants and brands- both online and offline, with consumers.

    Goyal joins the existing board and advisors that consist of Lightspeed Venture Partners MD Bejul Somaia, boAt Lifestyle CEO Vivek Gambhir, and Waterbridge MD Manish Kheterpal. Since launching in 2016, the homegrown app today has over 1.5 lakh merchants on the platform, serving 50 lakh consumers across fifty cities. It has also launched the OrderHere platform that enables local merchants to set up their online store within minutes, and serve online customers. magicpin simplifies catalog creation and management for local merchants/brands and offers integrated payments and logistics from logistics providers in India including Shadowfax, Dunzo, Rapido and Loadshare.

    Speaking on joining the board, Deepinder Goyal said, “I am delighted to join the magicpin board. They are a high-quality team and I am excited about how they are being a driver of growth for local merchants across categories. I am looking forward to contributing to the company’s success.”

    magicpin co-founder and CEO Anshoo Sharma said, “We are excited about Deepinder joining our board. He brings a wealth of experience from scaling up Zomato into the tech giant it is today. We are looking forward to his guidance and mentorship as we step into our next phase of growth.”

    As lockdown measures ease across the country, magicpin is poised to scale up merchants and brands on its platform for online and in-store demand. It is already driving over $ one billion in annual revenues for its existing partners and continues to grow at a rapid pace, the company stated.

  • Zomato appoints four women directors

    Zomato appoints four women directors

    NEW DELHI: Restaurant aggregator and food delivery platform Zomato has appointed five independent directors, including four women, on its eight-member board. 

    The newly appointed independent women directors are ex-Olympian Aparna Popat, Zalora Group former chief executive officer Gunjan Tilak Raj Soni, Airveda founder Namita Gupta, and ABN Amro Bank NV (India) former head of private health business Sutapa Banerjee. The male member in this new cluster of independent directors is TARI founder Kaushik Dutta. 

    The other three members on this board of directors are Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal, Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikchandani, and Ant Group SVP Douglas Faegin. 

    “Up until now, we had a largely investor-run board. But today, I’m elated to share that we have five independent members on our board of eight people, four of whom are women. More than gender diversity though, what we have always been gunning for is cognitive diversity across levels in our organisation. Evidence-based, research shows that a key prerequisite for innovation comes from cognitively diverse people” wrote Deepinder Goyal on Zomato’s blog. 

    Goyal also added that he is happy about the fact that “each of our board members come from different occupational backgrounds bringing diverse cognitive skills and perspectives to the table.”

  • Zomato progresses a step ahead in inclusivity; announces menstrual leaves

    Zomato progresses a step ahead in inclusivity; announces menstrual leaves

    NEW DELHI: “How many times have you had to send a message to your team saying “unwell today – taking the day off” and having to answer concerned questions about your health with a feeble “stomach upset / weakness” when you really wanted to say “on my period, terrible cramps – need a heating pad, some chocolate and a lot of green tea (or something stronger) so I’m taking the day off”?”

    This is how Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal started an interesting letter he sent the employees working at the restaurant aggregator and food-delivery company this Sunday. He was introducing an optional 10-day period leave policy for the women of Zomato, in a progressive step, becoming the third Indian company on-record to take menstrual leaves. Earlier, digital media company Culture Machine and independent digital agency Gozoop had announced such a policy for their female employees, back in 2017.

    Zomato is extending this option of taking 10 extra leaves a year during menstruation to its transgender people as well. Any person facing unnecessary harassment or distasteful comments from colleagues for taking a period leave can report them to an internal POSH committee via email.

    Goyal wrote, “At Zomato, we want to foster a culture of trust, truth and acceptance. Starting today, all women (including transgender people) at Zomato can avail up to 10 days of period leaves in a year. There shouldn’t be any shame or stigma attached to applying for a period leave. You should feel free to tell people on internal groups or emails that you are on your period leave for the day.”

    In its run to inclusivity, Zomato had earlier announced a 26-week paternity leave as well.

    Menstrual leaves became an issue of widespread debate in the country when “The Menstruation Benefit Bill” was tabled by Ninong Ering, a member of parliament from Arunachal Pradesh, in 2018, with forces against it citing increased workplace harassment and gender discrimination at the workplace as a reason.

    However, several countries have these policies in place for decades. Japan had passed a law allowing women with debilitating periods to take days off in 1947, more than 20 years after Japanese labour unions started demanding it. Indonesia announced two days of menstrual leave per month under its Labour Act in 2013. As of 2015, women in Zambia are legally entitled to a day off each month during periods and one has the right to prosecute the employer if denied.

    In South Korea, not only are female employees entitled to menstrual leave but they are also ensured additional pay if they do not take the menstrual leave that they are entitled to.

    In India, as mentioned, the discussion is still in its nascent stages, however, and this decision by Zomato has met with mixed reactions on social media.

  • Zomato acquires Feeding India to work on food safety

    Zomato acquires Feeding India to work on food safety

    MUMBAI: Restaurant search and discovery service provider Zomato has acquired Feeding India, a not-for-profit organisation that serves food to the underprivileged in the country. The latter will remain a non-profit entity while Zomato will fund the entire salaries of the team and some core initiatives, including the development of ‘Feedi.ng’ app.

    Zomato will also revamp the Feeding India website, and in the spirit of transparency, will be publishing quarterly financials. It is aiming to get the first Feeding Global – Financial Transparency Report, out by October 2019.

    As shared by Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal in a blog post the firms have been working together for the past six months and were closely associated during the Odisha floods as well. “Within these 6 months of working together, we’ve been able to unlock the massive potential that comes with our reach and scale. In December of 2018, Feeding India distributed 78,300 monthly meals to the underprivileged. That figure has now skyrocketed to over 1.1 million meals a month.”

    He further wrote, “Similarly, the number of cities Feeding India is active in has risen from 65 to 82. The number of Hunger Heroes (volunteers at Feeding India) has grown from 8,500 to 21,500.”

    Zomato has earlier been associated with several other organisations, for the cause of food safety, including Robin Hood Army and Akshaya Patra Foundation.

    “We have now begun a new, and a more concrete chapter around serving the underserved by acquiring Feeding India. It is an important step for us, as both organisations share a common dream of ending hunger and food wastage — not just in India, but globally," he added.

  • Zomato launches operations in 17 new Indian cities

    Zomato launches operations in 17 new Indian cities

    MUMBAI: Online restaurant guide Zomato has expanded its online ordering and food delivery services to 213 cities in India with the launch in 17 new cities.

    The newly launched cities include Bulandshahr, Shahjahanpur, Solan, Palwal, Rewari, Machilipatnam, Nandyal, Bhimavaram, Ongole, Srikakulam, Kadapa, Kottayam, Kollam, Khanna, Gurdaspur, Ambur and Deoghar, Zomato said in a statement.

    "Emerging cities are a major growth avenue for us and we expect them to constitute more than 50 per cent of our total order volume by the end of the year," Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said.

    "With 1.8 lakh delivery partners, we are creating jobs and skill-building opportunities for many in India. We are developing Zomato Kitchen hubs in smaller cities in India to drive growth for our restaurant partners," Goyal added.

    Zomato is a restaurant reviews, restaurant discovery, food delivery and dining out transactions platform providing information for over 1.4 million restaurants across 24 countries.

  • Zomato to launch in 30 more cities

    Zomato to launch in 30 more cities

    MUMBAI: Restaurant search and discovery platform Zomato is launching in 30 more cities which will include Ajmer, Ambala, Anand, Anantapur, Bareilly, Bathinda, Bhavnagar, Bhilai, Durg, Haridwar, Jamshedpur, Kakinada, Karnal, Katni, Kolhapur, Kurnool, Meerut, Puducherry, Puri, Rajahmundry, Rajkot, Ratnagiri, Roorkee, Saharanpur, Sangli, Sangrur, Siliguri, Thrissur, Tirupati, and Ujjain.

    Zomato confirmed that its online ordering and food delivery service will now be present in 93 Indian cities. Zomato also added that it has 75,000 listed restaurants for food delivery and will be adding more 5,000 delivery personnel.

    As Zomato’s delivery services are currently available from 11am to 11pm, the company will soon introduce breakfast delivery and midnight meals as well. Zomato also added that they will expand HyperPure ingredients delivery service to Delhi NCR this month.

    Zomato CEO – food delivery Mohit Gupta said, “We have been surprised by the demand in tier II tier III cities and are therefore gung-ho on serving every last customer, in the smallest of towns in India. We will be the first to hit the 100 city mark and will continue to invest heavily to lead geographical penetration, in the food delivery market in India. We have seen market share grow in our main markets through the festive season and have plans for growth in December as well.”

    Zomato Founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal added, “We have experienced an overwhelming reaction to our expansion across all of our businesses – Gold, Food Delivery and Supply. The number of Gold memberships sold in Manila and Jakarta within a week is beating early numbers of Delhi and Mumbai. HyperPure has had great reception, and we are opening up our next centre in the NCR in a couple of weeks. The Food@Work business has also been expanding into new markets. And of course, the Food Delivery business is ramping up really well with the growth in main markets, as well as the reception in tier II tier III cities.”

  • Zomato announces Rohithari Rajan as new global head Ad Sales Business

    Zomato announces Rohithari Rajan as new global head Ad Sales Business

    MUMBAI: In a recent development,  Zomato has appointed Rohithari Rajan as business head, global ad sales. Prior to joining Zomato, Rajan was leading Egon Zehnder digital practice in the Asia Pacific, and consumer, retail and media practice in India.

    Earlier Rajan was a principal in the New Delhi office of the international consulting firm Bain and Company, where he advised clients across consumer products, private equity, telecom, and industrial goods in organisational and growth strategy, go-to-market strategy, and new business development. 

    Zomato Founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said, “I worked with Rohit while I was at Bain, and learned a lot from him in my time there. Rohit has played an instrumental role in driving growth at all of the previous organisations he’s been at, and we’re thrilled to leverage his knowledge and experience to strengthen our ad sales business globally.”

    Commenting on his new role, Zomato global head, ad sales Rohithari Rajan says, “Zomato is arguably one of the most resilient and innovative companies in its space. I’m delighted to be a part of Zomato and look forward to working with this team towards our mission of delivering better food to more people across the world.”

    Rohit is an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and studied economics at Delhi University. He is also the author of IIM-Ganjdundwara, a short novel based in rural India

    Rajan has also spent six years at Hindustan Unilever, where he helped set up Shakti, a business initiative that doubled Unilever’s direct reach in rural India. As a rural business specialist, he also worked with the United Nations Development Program in New York, developing a toolkit for pro-poor business models to deliver development goods in low-income regions, and helping the UNDP formulate its strategy for private sector engagement. 

  • Zomato appoints Mohit Gupta as CEO of food delivery

    Zomato appoints Mohit Gupta as CEO of food delivery

    MUMBAI: Restaurants Discovery and Online food ordering app, Zomato, yesterday appointed Mohit Gupta as CEO for its food delivery business.

    Zomato has been working on strengthening its leadership team and aims at a long-term vision of “better food for more people”. The company is also experimenting with products that solve for affordability, accessibility, assortment and quality of food for the users, within India as well as globally.

    “We’re thrilled to have Mohit join our team – he is one of the few internet industry veterans who has helped build a formidable transactions business in India. He’s a widely respected leader, and we’re excited to learn from him, and further build our rapidly growing food delivery business with him,” said Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal as quoted by DNA.

    Gupta, who has about 20 years of experience joined MakeMyTrip in 2008 and worked in several senior positions in the company. As the chief operating officer he was responsible for the business delivery, growth and profitability of the entire online business for Makemytrip India. In between, he also worked with e-commerce website like Zovi.com for one year. Before joining Zovi.com, he worked with PepsiCo for about seven years where he last served as vice president marketing.

    He holds an MBA degree from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and has studied mechanical engineering from Sardar Patel University.

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  • Zomato enters US with Urbanspoon acquisition

    Zomato enters US with Urbanspoon acquisition

    MUMBAI: Zomato, the restaurant search app, has acquired US-based food portal Urbanspoon for an undisclosed amount in an all-cash deal. The acquisition marks Zomato’s entry into the United States.

    This also establishes Zomato’s presence in Australia and Canada, while adding to its already dominant position in United Kingdom and New Zealand. After the acquisition, Zomato will be present in 22 countries across the world. Its restaurant coverage will increase from about 300k restaurants to more than 1 million restaurants across the globe. Zomato’s traffic will more than double from about 35 million visits per month to more than 80 million visits per month, probably making it the largest restaurant search company in the world.

    Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said, “Our US entry has been on the cards for a while now, and we’re delighted to be doing so by welcoming Urbanspoon into Zomato. They have a strong presence in the US and the UK, and they also dominate restaurant search in Australia and Canada. Urbanspoon has a huge following, and is home to legions of people who are as passionate about food as we are. We will soon be integrating the two products to bring the best of both products to our users in the United States as well as the rest of the world.”

    The teams will be working closely over the coming months to integrate Urbanspoon into Zomato. In due course of time, all Urbanspoon traffic will move to Zomato.com, and all Urbanspoon app users will be able to use the Zomato app. This acquisition also has a lot to offer to restaurant businesses. Zomato’s hyperlocal advertising model, combined with Zomato for business app suite, will allow restaurant businesses to reach out to, connect with, and engage customers like never before.

    “Zomato has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years, and our customer bases complement each other’s perfectly,” said Urbanspoon CEO Keela Robison. “Zomato’s significant investments in people and technology will bring Urbanspoon customers, restaurant owners, and food bloggers a number of new capabilities and features. We’re excited to combine our strengths to accelerate growth.”

    This is Zomato’s sixth acquisition in the past six months, and the biggest one. Zomato has recently acquired local dominant restaurant search players in New Zealand, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Italy.