Flipkart CEO to join board; 3 new directors brought in ahead of IPO plan

Steuart Walton, the scion of the billionaire Walmart dynasty, quits Flipkart board. Keki Mistry, vice chairman and CEO of HDFC, among new directors

Flipkart has made key changes to its board as the Walmart, Inc-owned e-commerce giant readies for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) next year.

The new directors to the board from next year are Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HDFC Ltd Keki Mistry, two new directors from Walmart — Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer Suresh Kumar and Executive Vice-President (EVP) of International Strategy and Development for Walmart International Leigh Hopkins, along with Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy.

In an internal email to employees this week, Krishnamurthy informed them of the changes, which also include current board members Steuart Walton, Dirk Van den Berghe, EVP of Walmart Asia, Co-founder of MakeMyTrip Rajesh Magow, and Rohit Bhagat leaving the board.

Steuart Walton, the scion of the billionaire Walmart dynasty, is stepping down from the Flipkart board to be able to focus on his role as chair of the Walmart board’s tech committee. But he will continue to be an active sponsor for Flipkart. Walton joined the board, following Walmart’s investment.

Krishnamurthy said Walton had played a pivotal role in guiding the firm to successfully combine Flipkart’s entrepreneurial spirit with the benefits of being part of Walmart to accelerate its progress and ambition. He provided valued counsel as Flipkart shaped its strategy. As chair of the company’s investment committee, he has been a key sponsor of strategic investments.

Dirk Van den Berghe is retiring at the end of March from his role as EVP for Walmart’s Asia businesses and global sourcing organisation. Berghe was instrumental at the start of Walmart’s approach and eventual investment in Flipkart. Since then, he has been an active supporter as Flipkart developed its strategy. He has been a valuable mentor and sounding board to many in the Flipkart leadership team, including Krishnamurthy. Berghe will continue to support Flipkart in an advisory capacity.

Rajesh Magow, who has been associated with Flipkart for close to 10 years, is stepping down to take on an advisory role. After Walmart’s investment, he had agreed to continue to remain on the board and took on the role of chair to help the company transition under this new ownership structure. Magow has been a big part of Flipkart’s journey. As co-founder and CEO of MakeMyTrip, his experience and insight as an e-commerce leader have been extremely valuable for the company’s board discussions.

After Flipkart did a partial spin-off of digital payments firm PhonePe a few weeks ago, Rohit Bhagat has become the chair of the PhonePe board. Due to PhonePe’s significant scale and growth potential, Flipkart signed on Bhagat to entirely focus on this role and step off the Flipkart board. His deep expertise in fintech, as well as his operating experience and strategic acumen, has made him an extremely valuable voice on the Flipkart board. He is expected to bring the same expertise to PhonePe.

“We would like to thank all four directors for their important contributions during such an important time in Flipkart’s development,” said Krishnamurthy, adding, “All four have made a huge difference to our progress as board directors, providing valuable counsel and challenging us to be more ambitious.”

In 2018, the world’s largest retailer had invested $16 billion for a majority stake in Bengaluru-based Flipkart, valuing it at less than $21 billion. In July this year, the Bentonville-based company (in Arkansas) led a $1.2-billion investment in Flipkart, valuing it at $24.9 billion.

“Flipkart is reconstituting the board and trying to professionalise it further, so that it is prepared for the IPO. It is trying to get the right diverse skills and mix of people externally and internally to be able to demonstrate that,” said an industry source.

The firm is expecting to go public at a valuation of around $40-50 billion, revealed sources.