Flipkart's Mukesh Bansal to Leave Company

Weeks after the top-level rejig at Flipkart, its head of commerce and advertising business Mukesh Bansal has put in his papers.

Flipkart's Chief Business Officer Ankit Nagori has also quit the firm to start an entrepreneurial venture in the sports domain. Interestingly, Flipkart co-founders Sachin and Binny Bansal are the first investors in his new company.

Bansal, who joined Flipkart when the online marketplace acquired fashion e-tailer Myntra in 2014, will continue to be an advisor to the company.

"Mukesh Bansal, Head of Commerce Platform, Flipkart is moving out of his active role to be an advisor to the company. Mukesh has played a huge role in making Myntra the number one fashion destination and helped build a strong platform at Flipkart," a Flipkart spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Mukesh Bansal plans to take a break from work for the next 3-6 months to spend time with family.

A computer science graduate from IIT-Kanpur, Bansal founded Myntra in 2007. He sold Myntra to Flipkart in one of the largest M&A deals in the Indian e-commerce space. While neither companies had disclosed the deal size, it was estimated to be worth about Rs. 2,000 crore.

Mukesh Bansal's departure is one of the most high-profile exits yet for Flipkart, which is competing head-on with Amazon and Snapdeal for a larger share of the booming Indian online retail industry.

Binny Bansal will now directly oversee the commerce and advertising platforms.

On Nagori, the spokesperson said: "Ankit has played an instrumental role in introducing newer initiatives at Flipkart and building the marketplace model for the company. Sachin and Binny will be supporting Ankit in his new initiative and will be his first investors."

In January, Flipkart had announced a major top management rejig with Binny Bansal taking over as the new CEO in place of his co-founder Sachin Bansal. Sachin took over as the Executive Chairman.