Synopsis
Venkataraman, who joined the Bengaluru-based ecommerce company in 2015, is set to step down over the coming months. No successor has been named yet. His exit comes amid a series of senior hires in Flipkart’s finance function and follows recent cost-cutting measures, including the layoff of 400–500 employees based on performance reviews.Venkataraman, a decade-long company veteran who joined in 2015, will exit over the coming months. Flipkart has not named a successor yet.
Flipkart group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, in an email sent to employees on Friday announcing Venkataraman’s departure, wrote, “Sriram will remain with us for a period of time to help ensure transition and continuity. During this interim period, Sriram’s team will report to Ravi Iyer, CFO, Flipkart.”
“Our finance organisation remains strong, with experienced CFOs and other finance leaders across our businesses, supported by robust governance processes. Our strategy, priorities, and execution remain firmly on track,” Krishnamurthy wrote. ET has seen a copy of this email. Venkataraman had joined Flipkart in 2015 as the finance head of the company’s commerce platform after spending almost two decades at FMCG giant Unilever.
On Friday, Flipkart also announced the appointment of Nishant Verman as senior vice president to aid its IPO push — a move ET had first reported on March 9. Verman will report to Iyer and will be responsible for corporate developments, strategic partnerships and ventures, and Flipkart’s IPO readiness.
Verman was earlier part of Flipkart’s corporate development team and played a key role in the company’s $16 billion sale to Walmart in 2018, one of the largest deals in India’s startup ecosystem. He was also involved in Flipkart’s $4 billion fundraise from SoftBank, Tencent, eBay, and Microsoft and led the company’s acquisitions of PhonePe, Jabong, and eBay India.
This is among the select few SVP-level hires at Flipkart over the last year amid a broader pruning of its senior leadership under Krishnamurthy. ET had reported in February that the ecommerce marketplace's SVP ranks were cut to less than a dozen from around 18 two years ago.
The company completed its reverse flip earlier this month, shifting its domicile from Singapore back to Bengaluru in a move towards preparing itself to list domestically.
Across its finance function, Flipkart has also made senior-level hires — including Gunjan Bhartia, who joined as senior vice president of business finance, and vice president Vipin Kapooria, who returned to the company after a short stint as Eternal-owned Blinkit’s chief financial officer.
These developments come close on the heels of Flipkart laying off around 400-500 employees on the basis of their performance reviews. The company has also been trying to cut losses. In fiscal 2025, Flipkart Internet, the marketplace arm of the company, reported revenues of Rs 20,493 crore, up 14% year-on-year (YoY), while its net losses fell 37% to Rs 1,494 crore. However, Flipkart Internet's 14% growth rate in FY25 was slower than the 21% increase in operating revenue it saw in 2024, which was the second straight year of over 20% growth.
In calendar year 2025, Flipkart clocked $30 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV), double the $15 billion it recorded in 2020.
