Flipkart Group CEO Binny Bansal quits over ‘misconduct’

BENGALURU: Flipkart Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Binny Bansal resigned on Tuesday over an alleged ‘serious personal misconduct’, the company said.

“Bansal’s decision to quit came after an independent investigation done on behalf of Flipkart and Walmart into an allegation of serious personal misconduct,” the city-based e-commerce and its parent American retail giant Walmart said in a joint statement here.

Bansal, however, denied allegation, the statement said.

“He (Bansal) denies the allegation. Nevertheless, we (Flipkart and Walmart) had a responsibility to ensure the investigation was deliberate and thorough,” the companies said.

The investigation also revealed lapses in Bansal’s judgement, the statement added.

“While the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant’s assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in the judgement, particularly lack of transparency related to how Binny responded to the situation. Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign,” the statement said.

“Binny has been an important part of Flipkart since co-founding the company, but recent events risked becoming a distraction and Binny has made a decision to step down,” said the statement.

With Bansal quitting, the group said it had accelerated the succession plan. Going forward, Kalyan Krishnamurthy will continue to be the the CEO of e-tailer Flipkart, which will include online fashion portals Myntra and Jabong, though they would operate separately.

As the country’s largest e-commerce player, the 11-year-old Flipkart Group includes e-tail sites Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong and digital payment platform Phonepe.

Though Binny and Sachin Bansal co-founded Flipkart in 2007, the latter left the company in May when Walmart bought a 77 per cent equity stake in the company for a whopping $16 billion (Rs 1,16,256 crore).

‘WE (FLIPKART AND WALMART) HAD A RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THE INVESTIGATION WAS DELIBERATE AND THOROUGH’