Byju's hires Arjun Mohan as India CEO as Mrinal Mohit prepares to depart

Byju's, the troubled edtech company, has announced a significant change in its leadership team. Arjun Mohan has been appointed as the new Chief Executive for India, replacing Mrinal Mohit. Mrinal Mohit, a long-time associate of Byju's founder Byju Raveendran, will be departing the company after nearly a decade of service.

Both Arjun Mohan and Mrinal Mohit were once students of Byju Raveendran during his early days as a teacher providing coaching for the Common Admission Test entrance exam. Raveendran shared this news internally with all employees through an email, describing it as both a farewell and a warm welcome.

Arjun Mohan, who previously served as Byju's Chief Business Officer, had spent two years as the CEO of UpGrad India and worked as a consultant with various edtech startups, including Byju's, before returning to the company as India CEO. This development comes at a time when Byju's is undergoing significant restructuring, including the reported plans to sell its subsidiaries, Great Learning and Epic, as part of a strategy to clear a $1.2 billion term loan raised in 2021.

Arjun Mohan, who had initially been overseeing the international business of the company, has now taken on the role of India CEO amidst a series of changes within Byju's. Prior to his stint at UpGrad, Mohan had a tenure of over 11 years at K-12 edtech major Byju's, where he last held the position of Chief Business Officer. He also had prior experience working with various Tata group companies.

Byju's and its founder, Byju Raveendran, have faced several challenges, including legal disputes with lenders, resignations by auditors and board members, layoffs, valuation downgrades, and numerous departures of business vertical heads.

To address some of these issues, the company recently appointed Rajnish Kumar, the former Chairman of the State Bank of India, and Mohandas Pai, the former Chief Financial Officer of Infosys, to its board advisory committee. This committee was formed in July to provide advice and guidance to the CEO on matters related to the board and governance structure.