Swiggy's quick commerce arm Swiggy Instamart strengthens leadership team with four key VP Heads

Food delivery giant Swiggy's quick commerce arm Swiggy Instamart has made significant additions to its leadership team.

The new hires come as Swiggy prepares for its initial public offering (IPO). Recently, the company reportedly filed confidential IPO papers for Rs 10,400 crore (approximately $1.25 billion).

Key appointments

Himavant Srikrishna Kurnala has been named Senior Vice President (SVP) and Head of Product at Swiggy Instamart. Kurnala joins from Reliance Retail's JioMart, where he was the Chief Product Officer.

He brings over 20 years of experience from companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Reliance.

His extensive expertise in scaling product portfolios and leading high-performance teams is expected to bolster Swiggy Instamart's product strategy and enhance customer experience.

Mayank Rajvaidya has been appointed Vice President (VP) of Fruits and Vegetables, a crucial category for Swiggy Instamart.

Rajvaidya, who previously led Amazon’s consumables private brands in India, has nearly 20 years of experience in category management and operations. His role will focus on elevating Swiggy Instamart’s fresh produce segment.

Manu Sasidharan joins as Associate Vice President (AVP) of the FMCG Category. Sasidharan brings over 12 years of experience from companies like Flipkart and Cleartrip, where he handled business development, setting up businesses, PnL management, and customer demand management.

Expansion of roles

In addition to the leadership changes at Instamart, Kumar Rahul has been appointed as the new AVP of Business Development at Lynk by Swiggy. Lynk, acquired by Swiggy last year, helps leading FMCG brands grow their retail presence.

Rahul has over 14 years of experience in digital transformation, marketing, and e-commerce, having worked with Google, Disney+Hotstar, and Flipkart.

“We are thrilled to welcome leaders like Himavant, Mayank, and Manu, whose experience in scaling and managing large organizations will be invaluable as we enter the next growth phase," said Girish Menon, Head of HR at Swiggy.

Focused on expanding quick commerce business

These appointments come at a time when Swiggy is ramping up its quick commerce operations.

Swiggy Instamart operates in more than 25 cities, delivering groceries and other essentials across over 20 categories in as little as 10 minutes. The rapid delivery service competes with companies like Zepto and Blinkit.

The development comes after media reports said that e-commerce giant Amazon India exploring a potential deal with Swiggy’s Instamart. Additionally, Flipkart had previously shown interest in acquiring a stake in Swiggy. 

In another development, Swiggy announced its fifth Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) liquidity program. This will provide liquidity of up to $65 million for Swiggy employees across various levels and functions.