Eternal CEO Deepinder Goyal is handing over the reins to Blinkit boss as flash commerce takes off

Deepinder Goyal, co-founder and CEO of food delivery service Zomato and its parent company Eternal, is stepping down and handing over the top job to Albinder Dhindsa, CEO of its express commerce division Blinkit.

Goyal said on Wednesday that he will remain on Eternal’s board as deputy chairman as it shifts focus to “high-risk exploration and experimentation”, which he says could be difficult to pursue within the constraints of a listed company.

“This is a change in title, not in commitment to results,” Goyal said in a statement. letter For eternal shareholders. “Eternal remains my life’s work.”

Goyal co-founded Zomato with Pankaj Chaddah in 2008 as a restaurant discovery and review platform called FoodieBay while they both worked at Bain & Company. In 2009, they resigned to focus on the business full-time, renaming it to Zomato in 2010 amid a naming conflict with eBay, before expanding into food delivery in 2015.

Chaddah left the company in 2018, and Zomato subsequently strengthened its position through acquisition Uber Eats works in India In 2020, and Plinkett (formerly Grovers) for $568 million in 2022.

Leadership change comes as eternal I mentioned (PDF) Strong momentum in the third quarter, with profits up about 73% to ₹1.02 billion (about $11.13 million) from a year earlier, on adjusted revenues of ₹166.92 billion (about $1.8 billion), up 190% from a year ago.

Blinkit remained the company’s fastest-growing business, with net order value jumping 121% to INR 133.0 billion (about US$1.45 billion) in the latest quarter.

Outside of Eternal, Goyal has been working on other projects over the past few months, including a longevity-focused initiative called Follow Up Research, and an experimental wearable device for brain health called Temple. He is a co-founder of the aerospace startup LAT Aerospace, and is also an angel investor.

The delivery could be an indicator of Blinkit’s growing influence within Eternal, as the company’s growth moves toward quick commerce and away from its mainstay, food delivery.

Express trade is booming in India even as the sector faces increasing scrutiny over the working conditions of thousands of workers employed in the industry. The country’s Ministry of Labor recently asked platforms to drop their software “10-minute delivery” marketing.Develop measures to improve the conditions of delivery employees.