Byju’s names Jiny Thattil as Chief Technology Officer, replacing Anil Goel

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Edtech major Byju’s announced on Monday that it has appointed senior vice president for engineering Jiny Thattil as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Thattil takes over from Anil Goel, who is leaving the company after three years as CTO.


“This transition is part of Byju’s ongoing strategic restructuring and reorientation of its leadership team to further enhance operational efficiency,” the company said in a statement.


Thattil has previously worked at companies such as cred-owned Happay, Amazon, InMobi and GE Healthcare. He has also contributed to the post-acquisition integration of various subsidiaries of Byju’s.


“Thattil’s extensive experience and leadership skills make him the ideal candidate for this crucial role as we continue to rebuild for greater efficiency and sustainability,” said Arjun Mohan, the India CEO of Byju’s.


What is happening at Byju’s?


This comes after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) confirmed issuing a show cause notice to edtech company Think and Learn Private Limited and Byju Raveendran in the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violation case.


Thattil’s appointment also comes at a time when the corporation has once again delayed full and final settlements of laid-off employees. The Bengaluru-based company had earlier shifted the date of payment from September to November.


Recently, the company overcame a longstanding conflict with Davidson Kempner, linked with covenants on Byju’s’ subsidiary Aakash. Earlier in November, Manipal Group chairman Ranjan Pai bought out the debt investment by the US Hedge Fund, in a Rs 1,400-crore deal.


Meanwhile, in September, Byju’s submitted a proposal to its lenders, expressing its intention to fully repay its $1.2 billion term loan B within the upcoming six months. Byju’s aims to achieve this by making an initial payment of $300 million within the next three months.


As part of its efforts to secure the necessary funds for loan repayment, the company has also decided to conduct a strategic review of its key assets.


For this, Byju’s has put up its upskilling platform Great Learning and book reading platform Epic, for sale, which would yield the company about $1 billion.


Byju’s, which was founded over a decade back by former teacher Raveendran, had soared to new heights in March 2022 after it raised a massive $800 million funding round at a $22 billion valuation, becoming India’s most-valued startup.


However, the company has come under fire since then for a number of issues, including delayed financial results, the resignation of its auditor, Deloitte, and three key board members–Peak XV Partners (Sequoia Capital India) ‘s GV Ravishankar, Prosus’ Russel Dreisenstock and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Vivian Wu.