Ahead of IPO, Zepto appoints Airtel's Akhil Gupta to company board

Quick commerce unicorn Zepto has appointed Akhil Gupta, vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises—the parent company of Bharti Airtel—as an independent director to its board, as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO). Gupta, who has led the public listings of Bharti Airtel (2002), Bharti Infratel (2012), and Airtel Africa (2019), is expected to lend his expertise to Zepto. The firm plans to make its stock market debut later this year.

 

Currently, Zepto’s board includes co-founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, alongside Avra founder Anu Hariharan and Nexus Venture Partners co-founder and managing director Suvir Sujan.

 

As part of his role as vice chairman, Gupta has led the formation of various partnerships for Bharti with international operators such as British Telecom, Telecom Italia, Singapore Telecom and Vodafone, and has brought on board leading financial investors like Warburg Pincus, Temasek, KKR, Qatar Foundation Endowment, AIF and Sequoia, among other private equity funds.

 

The company has not only strengthened its board but also elevated several executives to senior positions in recent years. In July last year, Devendra Meel, senior vice president and head of its loyalty programme Pass, was promoted to chief business officer, a year after joining. Earlier, in January, former senior vice presidents Nikhil Mittal and Divesh Sawhney were promoted as chief technology officer and chief growth officer, respectively.

 

Zepto recently flipped its base back to India from Singapore and has been on a fundraising spree. The Bengaluru-based company raised $1.35 billion in five months. It secured $665 million in June 2024 from Glade Brook Capital, The StepStone Group, Nexus Venture Partners and others, followed by $340 million in August 2024 from General Catalyst and others. It then raised $350 million from Motilal Oswal, Ranjan Pai’s Claypond Capital and other Indian investors.