Flipkart Appoints Ex-Google Executive Balaji Thiagarajan as Chief Technology and Product Officer

E-commerce giant Flipkart has named Balaji Thiagarajan as its new Chief Technology and Product Officer (CTPO), bringing on board a seasoned tech leader with more than 25 years of experience across global tech companies including Google, Microsoft, Uber, and Yahoo.

Thiagarajan will lead Flipkart’s OneTech organisation, tasked with accelerating the company’s strategic tech initiatives and driving innovation at scale, particularly in the adoption of emerging technologies, the Walmart-owned company said in a statement.

Most recently, Thiagarajan founded Kasu.ai, an AI platform aimed at streamlining business operations, according to his LinkedIn profile. His appointment comes at a pivotal time for Flipkart, which is reportedly preparing for a potential initial public offering (IPO).

The CTPO role was previously held by Jeyandran Venugopal, who stepped down in February and is expected to join Reliance Retail Ventures as CEO. Flipkart has seen a series of senior-level exits in recent months, including Ankit Jain, SVP & Head of Grocery and Large Supply Chain, Prajakta Kanaglekar, VP, HR for Technology, Anurag Singhvi, VP, Analytics and Ganesh Ramaswamy, VP at Flipkart and former CPTO at Cleartrip

Despite the executive churn, Flipkart appears to be bolstering its leadership with experienced hands as it gears up for its next phase of growth.