Byju's-owned Aakash appoints Deepak Mehrotra as MD and CEO

Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), owned by troubled edtech company Byju’s, has appointed Deepak Mehrotra as its managing director and chief executive officer.

Prior to joining AESL, Mehrotra was the Managing Director at Ashirvad Pipes. With over 35 years of experience in executive roles in FMCG, telecom, and education sectors, Mehrotra has worked at firms like Pearson India, Bharti Airtel, Coca-Cola, and Asian Paints.

The appointment of Mehrotra is part of AESL's strategic vision to improve its offerings, expand its reach, and create a positive impact on the education landscape, said the company in a press release.

“In his role as CEO, he will be responsible to deliver on our aggressive growth plan and to build on the significant momentum the company is currently experiencing. His business acumen and stellar record as the Managing Director for Pearson India will be pivotal in leading Aakash BYJU'S into its next phase of growth and impact,” said Byju’s Raveendran, founder and chairman of Byju’s.

Aakash, which offers NEET, IIT-JEE, Olympiad NTSE, classroom along with distance courses for engineering and medical aspirants, has been preparing for the initial public offering (IPO) that might launch this year.

In June 2023, Byju’s announced that Aakash would go public in the next 12 months or June 2024. In November, Aakash also raised $168 million from Manipal Education and Medical Group chairman Ranjan Pai to clear the debt raised from Davidson Kempner in May last year.

Byju’s had acquired Aakash for $940 million in April 2021. However, Chaudhry family, the founder of AESL, refused to swap their remaining stake citing governance issues. Recently, both withdrew the merger petition. The two companies were running independently as separate entities under the Think and Learn brand and continue to do so.

Aakash is yet to report FY23 numbers but the firm reported nearly 45% jump in its operating revenue in FY22. At the same time, it posted an 82% jump in profit to Rs 79.5 crore during FY22 and is expected to cross Rs 2,000 crore in revenue in the fiscal year ending March 2023.