CarDekho beefs up top deck with slew of hires

Automotive solutions provider CarDekho Group has strengthened its top leadership with a number of fresh hires.

The CarDekho Group operates online marketplaces such as Gaadi.com, Zigwheels.com, BikeDekho.com, TyreDekho.com and TrucksDekho.com.

CarDekho said in a statement that it has appointed Ranjit Yadav as president and mentor. Yadav has previously held senior roles at Info Edge (India), Tata Motors and Samsung India. He has experience across sales and management.

Rajat Kumar, former chief operating officer at Amrita Bazar Patrika Digital, has been made chief of staff at CarDekho. A qualified chartered accountant, Kumar has worked across consulting firms, the media and the IT industry.

Ranjiv Kapur, former CEO of Tata Motors subsidiary Concorde Motors, will head CarDekho’s new strategic initiatives, particularly in the New Auto business division. Kapur has more than 35 years of experience across roles at Philips, Samsung Mobiles, Tata Motors and Arvind Mills.

Shubhabrata Marmar has been named chief editor of PowerDrift, a YouTube channel that was acquired by CarDekho parent Girnar Software Pvt. Ltd last year. Marmar previously worked with Business Standard Motoring and then Overdrive, Network 18’s automotive magazine.

Mir Muzaffar U Zaman was the only in-house appointment. Zaman was elevated from senior vice president to the position of COO in the New Auto division. He will be responsible for overseeing the current business strategy and execution of the long-term growth plans to ensure retention of customers for CarDekho’s many offerings.

“Yadav, Kumar and Kapur bring cross-industry experience as well as a strong understanding of the different aspects of enterprises while Marmar already has rich experience in automotive content in India,” said Amit Jain, co-founder and CEO of the CarDekho Group. “Muzaffar is already an old hand in the company and is well abreast with our vision and working culture.” 

Founded in 2007, CarDekho’s investor pool includes the likes of Sequoia India, Hillhouse Capital, Google Capital, Tybourne Capital, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Times Internet, Ratan Tata and Trifecta.

Recent developments in the CarDekho Group:

• April 2019: CarDekho’s parent company Girnarsoft said it had recorded a revenue run rate of $53 million in the financial year 2018-19.
• January 2019: CarDekho raised $110 million in its Series C round of funding led by Sequoia Capital.
• January 2019: Bolstered by its Series C round of funding, CarDekho pivoted to the used-cars segment.
• November 2018: CarDekho acqui-hired Carbiqi to foray into the auctioning of new cars.