Cleartrip, the travel booking unit of Flipkart, has appointed Anuj Rathi as its Chief Business and Growth Officer. Rathi, a former Flipkart executive, announced his new role on LinkedIn on Thursday. He replaces Ayyappan R, a Flipkart veteran who left the firm earlier this year.
Rathi transitioned to Cleartrip from fintech firm Jupiter, where he served as the Chief Product and Marketing Officer. His appointment follows a period of leadership vacancies at Cleartrip, marked by the departure of both Ayyappan and Chief Financial Officer Aditya Agarwal.
Expressing his enthusiasm for the new role, Rathi stated, “Although new to the travel industry, I am eager to immerse myself in its intricacies and work closely with the talented team at Cleartrip. My goal is to assemble and inspire the best team to deliver outstanding results and continue Cleartrip’s trajectory towards being one of the most loved brands in the country.”
Rathi is returning to Flipkart after a 12-year hiatus during which he held significant roles at Walmart, Snapdeal, and Swiggy, where he spent over seven years and exited as SVP of Revenue and Growth. He had joined Jupiter in September last year.
This appointment is part of a broader trend of top-level management changes at Flipkart. Recently, the company appointed Prathyusha Agarwal, a former Byju and Tata Cliq executive, to lead Shopsy, Flipkart’s budget e-commerce platform. Agarwal’s appointment followed the exit of Senior Vice President (SVP) Adarsh Menon, who oversaw the eCommerce division and other new businesses.
Several other SVPs have also left Flipkart in recent months, including Prabh Simran Singh, who managed customer growth and retention, Amitesh Jha, head of marketplace and categories, fintech and payments head Dheeraj A, and Bharath Ram, who led growth and retention.
Flipkart has been focused on achieving profitability and addressing challenges such as the rise of quick commerce firms while preparing for a potential public listing. On May 25, it was reported that Flipkart had closed a funding round of approximately $1 billion, including $350 million from Alphabet’s Google.
Earlier this year, Flipkart undertook performance-based staff reductions across all verticals, impacting 5-7% of its workforce, including vice presidents in engineering and product divisions.
The leadership changes and strategic funding efforts are part of Flipkart’s ongoing endeavors to maintain its competitive edge and navigate the evolving e-commerce landscape.
