“For some time, I have been mulling over the right time to step away from an operating role at Flipkart Group. My plan was to continue in my current role for a few more quarters to continue the transition after closing the deal with Walmart. However, my decision to step down has been accelerated by certain personal events that have taken place in the recent past,” he said.
A Walmart statement to the stock exchange on Tuesday said that while an internal investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant’s assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in judgement, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how Binny responded to the situation.
Bansal noted that the allegations were uncorroborated after a thorough investigation completed by an independent law firm.
“The allegations left me stunned and I strongly deny them. The investigation, however, did bring to light lapses in judgment, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how I responded to the situation. These have been challenging times for my family and me. I am concerned that this may become a distraction for the company and the team. In light of these circumstances, I feel it is best to step away as chairman and group CEO,” he said in the email.
Bansal said he will continue to be a large shareholder in the company and will continue to serve as a member of the board of directors.
“I am convinced that the company is in great hands with our experienced leaders - Kalyan, Ananth and Sameer. They have done an exceptional job running the businesses for many years now and with the support of Walmart that I have experienced, will continue to lead the company to even greater successes in the future.”
Six months back, American retail giant Walmart picked up a 77% stake in Flipkart for $16 billion in what was seen as one of the biggest bets on e-commerce globally. The investment deal, also the largest ever M&A in the online retail industry, valued Flipkart at approximately $21 billion. With SoftBank, the major investor, out, the Walmart is the single largest shareholder in Flipkart.
Flipkart was founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, two IIT-Delhi engineers, and it spawned a new generation of internet entrepreneurs in the country.
Binny Bansal is still optimistic. “Since co-founding Flipkart with modest resources in 2007, the journey we have embarked on together has been arduous and rewarding, culminating with the fantastic news of our partnership with Walmart earlier this year. They have been great partners and I am optimistic about our future together,” he wrote in the email.
“Thank you for all the goodwill that you’ve shown towards me over the years. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to help get us to where we are today. I look forward to seeing Flipkart scale greater heights in the coming years,” he said.
from Times of India https://ift.tt/2Ppn1yR
