Troubled edtech giant Byju's Group General Counsel Roshan Thomas quits; Here's why

Roshan Thomas, the Group General Counsel of Byju's, has announced his resignation from the troubled edtech giant. Thomas, an alumnus of NALSAR University of Law, joined Byju's in 2021.

Prior to Byju's he worked at BMR Legal, Themis Group, Lexygen, and Nishith Desai Associates. He was also a former partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas.

Thomas departure announcement 

Thomas, while announcing his departure in a LinkedIn post, said, “After 2.5+ years as the Group General Counsel at Byju's, I am announcing the conclusion of this chapter. My decision to move on comes after careful consideration of various factors.” 

“Navigating through challenging and tumultuous situations has been both a learning experience and a privilege,” Thomas said in the LinkedIn post.

The exit adds to a series of senior-level departures at Byju's, including CEO Mrinal Mohit, CFO Ajay Goel, CTO Ajit Goel, CBO Prathyusha Agarwal, and others.

Exit amid challenges at the edtech giant 

Byju's, India's most-valued startup, has been grappling with various issues since early 2022. These include accounting irregularities, alleged mis-selling of courses, mass layoffs, and a cash crunch.

The company has also faced delayed financial results, alleged forex violations, multiple lawsuits, and parts of its business shutting down. In the last 12 months, Byju's laid off thousands of employees due to a combination of drying venture capital funding and slowing demand for online learning services.

Shareholder and management dynamics

The company's troubles have led to significant changes in its management and shareholder dynamics. In November, Byju's appointed Jiny Thattil as its new Chief Technology Officer, replacing Anil Goel.

Shareholders like PeakXV and Prosus have resigned from the board due to communication issues. Top shareholders have also demanded founder Byju Raveendran to loosen his control over the firm for any fresh capital infusion.

How well is Byju's performing financially?

Despite the challenges, Byju's parent company, Think & Learn Pvt, reported a 2X increase in consolidated revenue at Rs 5,015 crore in FY22 and a 1.8x increase in losses at Rs 8,245 crore.  The company held its annual general meeting on December 20 to approve the delayed FY22 accounts. 

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