BYJU'S hires Ajay Goel as CFO amid myriad of problems

Edtech company BYJU'S has appointed Ajay Goel as its chief financial officer (CFO), as it aims to strengthen the company's financial operations and achieve profitability amid myriad of problems.

Goel, who has worked with companies like Vedanta, GE, Coca Cola and Nestle, will be responsible for overseeing financial strategy and management for BYJU'S.

"With his extensive experience and diverse skill-set, Goel is the ideal candidate to take on the role of Chief Financial Officer as we continue to chart the course of sustainable growth in this exciting new phase," said Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO, BYJU'S.

Goel will work closely with the founders and the senior leadership on strategy development, capital planning and financial analysis.

The company has already missed its March 2023 deadline to achieve group-level profitability, as it envisioned in its earnings in October last year.

Last month, in a setback to BYJU's, New York-based investment firm BlackRock in a private assessment slashed the valuation of edtech major BYJU's to $11.15 billion from its $22 billion valuation that the company keeps referring to.

"BYJU's is India's most valued startup. If other investors follow BlackRock, it may translate into the first major downgrade of an Indian decacorn after Flipkart in 2016," according to a report in The Arc, citing the filings.

BlackRock had entered the edtech giant's cap table at a $12 billion valuation in 2020. Its stake is under 1 per cent.

BYJU's is in advanced stages to raise $250 million at a flat valuation, as it struggles to repay a $1.2 billion term loan and turn profitable in 2023.

The latest funding round is in "final stages of discussion and will be closed soon within a few weeks".

The edtech company is also winding up coding platform WhiteHat Jr, which it acquired for $300 million, as part of restructuring and cut costs.