Byju’s woes worsen: Rajnish Kumar, Mohandas Pai to step down from advisory panel
MUMBAI , BENGALURU : Rajnish Kumar and T.V. Mohandas Pai do not intend to continue on the advisory panel of Byju’s parent company, Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd, after their one-year tenure ends on 30 June, presenting the latest setback to the embattled online tutor.
Kumar and Pai, who had joined the company last year to advise founder Byju Raveendran following a series of board exits and financial woes, have communicated their decision to him, according to two executives privy to the development. Byju’s had established the advisory panel naming Kumar, a former chairman of the State Bank of India, and Pai, former chief financial officer of Infosys, as members to assuage investors worried about the company’s future as legal cases mounted against it. One of the reasons behind both Kumar and Pai snapping ties with Byju’s, according to one executive, is on account of the company getting embroiled in litigation.
Byju’s is facing lawsuits both in India and in the US from its creditors and key shareholders, who want the founder ousted. The advisory panel’s three main focus areas were to get the company to disclose its audited financials and help Raveendran rebuild the team. Better communication with shareholders was the third part.
On each of these aspects, Byju’s started well “but unfortunately, the company got embroiled in all kinds of litigation", said the executive. An email sent to Byju's seeking comment went unanswered. Text messages sent to Kumar and Pai were not answered.
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