Bengaluru-based online marketplace Flipkart has promoted five senior directors across various verticals as vice presidents (VPs), per an internal email sent out to employees by their CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, local newspaper Economic Times reported.
The newly appointed VPs include Chanakya Gupta, head of 2GUD, a platform that sells refurbished products; Saurabh Tandon from engineering; Nishit Garg; Nandita Sinha, who leads Big Billion Day (BBD) planning; and Regunath B, head of BBD tech architecture.
“These leaders have an outstanding track record of delivering impact and creating long-term value for Flipkart; and truly exemplify our core values,” Krishnamurthy wrote in the email. Flipkart conducts the performance assessment of its employees twice a year, in June and December.
These senior directors promoted to VPs received the first tranche of designation advancement letters. Over the next two weeks, the company will continue to issue promotion letters across levels along with additional Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), insiders have revealed to ET.
The announcement comes within a week after Krishnamurthy said the company board has received approval to allow current employees an opportunity to cash out 10% of their vested stock options at USD 125-130 per share. Earlier this year, Flipkart had released ESOPs worth USD 100 million to senior and mid-level personnel as part of the e-commerce company’s talent retention scheme. Flipkart’s stock options are distributed over a four-year period, with employees vesting them every month after a one-year minimum threshold.
The promotions are timed ahead of Flipkart’s annual flagship sale, The Big Billion Days (BBD), that happens during India’s three-month-long festive season starting September end. Flipkart is targeting USD 3 billion in sales during the festive season. Traditionally, all e-commerce players offer deep discounts and partner with retailers to capture maximum market share during the festive period. According to a report by Forrester and RedSeer, the e-commerce sales during last year’s annual festive sale grew by 33% totaling up to USD 2-2.3 billion.
Flipkart’s major competitor after thinning out Snapdeal, is Amazon India that is working on a 360-degree plan to limit Flipkart. This year, for its marquee festive period sale—The Great Indian Festive Sale—Amazon India is gearing up by forging partnerships with retail stores such as Future Group and Shoppers Stop.