- Deep Kalra, group chief executive (CEO) of Nasdaq listed MakeMyTrip Group, has stepped down, taking over the role of Kalra will be co-founder Rajesh Magow.
- Kalra, a St Stephen’s School, and alumni of IIM-Ahmedabad will now serve as the executive president, the company said in a statement.
- Founded by Kalra in 2000, the company was among the first of the Indian consumer internet companies to go public when it made its $70 million debuts on the Nasdaq in 2010.
Deep Kalra, group chief executive (CEO) of Nasdaq listed MakeMyTrip Group, has stepped down, taking over the role of Kalra will be co-founder Rajesh Magow, who was heading India business.
Kalra, a St Stephen’s School, and alumni of IIM-Ahmedabad will now serve as the executive president, the company said in a statement.
“(Kalra) will devote its full time to pursuing strategic initiatives, including product innovation and expansion, regional growth, business model innovation, and corporate development, in its new role as Group Executive Chairman,” the company said.
Rajesh Magow, who was MakeMyTrip India’s CEO until recently, will now take over as group chief executive, a move that effectively separates the two positions.
“Mr. Magow will focus on driving the next growth phase for the MakeMyTrip Group through its three strong brands, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and Redbus, in his role as Group CEO, and will continue to work closely with Mr. Kalra,” the statement added.
As of Tuesday, MakeMyTrip is India’s largest online travel company and has a $2.74 billion market capitalization. The Gurugram-headquartered company’s shares rose more than 10 percent at $26.63, on Nasdaq’s morning session.
Founded by Kalra in 2000, the company was among the first of the Indian consumer internet companies to go public when it made its $70 million debuts on the Nasdaq in 2010.
Kalra also played an important role in purchasing its closest rival, Ibibo Group, in a mostly stock transaction estimated at approximately $1.8-$2 billion in 2016, creating an online travel behemoth that dominates 60%-70% of the online travel sector.
“We believe that separating Group CEO and Executive Chairperson roles will allow us to concentrate more on long-term strategic opportunities within and outside India while retaining our market-leading position in our existing businesses,” Kalra said.
The announcement comes the day MakeMyTrip announced its performance for the third quarter.
The company posted an adjusted net loss of $15.8 million, compared with last year’s loss of $14.8 million. Adjusted operating loss reduced from $22.2 million in the previous year to $11 million years on year. Adjusted sales for the third quarter rose to $206.7 million year-on-year by 14.9 percent.
The travel operator also posted quarterly gross bookings of more than $1.7 billion, a rise of nearly 19 percent in constant currency terms. For the nine months of the fiscal year 2020, this reflects about $4.9 billion in gross bookings and constant currency increases of over 21 percent.
