Byju’s-owned Aakash Educational Services appoints Deepak Mehrotra as MD, CEO

Aakash Educational Services, owned by Byju’s, has appointed former Pearson India executive, Deepak Mehrotra, as its Managing Director and CEO, effective immediately, the company said on Monday.

Mehrotra has more than 35 years of experience in top roles in sectors like FMCG, telecom and education industries.

“In his role as CEO, he (Mehrotra) will be responsible to deliver on our aggressive growth plan and to build on the significant momentum the company is currently experiencing,” according to Byju Raveendran, Co-founder and CEO, Byju’s.

Mehrotra has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Roorkee, an MMS from JBIMS, and has completed an Executive programme from The Wharton School, Philadelphia, US.

“His strategic vision and proven operational expertise will be instrumental in solidifying our position as an industry leader,” said Shailesh Haribhakti, the Chairman of AESL (Aakash Educational Services Limited).

The appointment comes almost seven months after CEO Abhishek Maheshwari and CFO Vipan Joshi had quit the leading test preparation company amid a shareholder tussle.

Before Aakash, Mehrotra was the Managing Director of Ashirvad Pipes, and also worked with Bharti Airtel and Coca-Cola, among other companies.

There were reports earlier that Aakash Chaudhry, the promoter of Aakash Educational Services, will return as Aakash’s CEO but the talks did not materialise.

Byju’s had acquired Aakash Educational Services for almost $1 billion in 2021 in an equity and cash deal.

In June 2023, the edtech company had said that Aakash would go public later this year.