The move – following Lobo’s 23-year career at information technology services integrator Infosys, where he last served as executive vice president and head of human resources – comes at a time when the Bengaluru-based edtech steers itself through massive layoff exercises and corporate governance crises.
“His extensive experience and leadership in HR will be instrumental in further enriching our work culture and ensuring that the welfare of our team members remains at the core of every decision we take. Byju’s has been built by its people; it is an ecosystem where talent can thrive and grow,” co-founders Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath said in a joint statement.
Having Lobo on board “reassures that Byju’s will evolve into a best-in-class global workplace, where merit and growth flourish hand in hand,” the co-founders added. Lobo had stepped down from Infosys, earlier this month. His last day with the company would be August 31, a stock exchange filing had said.
“I’m excited to take on this pivotal role and work closely with the team at Byju’s to build on their achievements, and help transform the organization to be future ready. I look forward to working with the leadership to scale global organisational design, innovate people practices, and help strengthen the foundation of the enterprise to support its next phase of growth as a global market leader,” Lobo said.
Lobo began his corporate journey with the Godrej group in Mumbai. He then joined Infosys in 2000, and is credited with bringing technology and analytics to the human resources function as Infosys scaled to become a global leader in technology and consulting, the statement added
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Separately, the troubled edtech company has also roped in former State Bank of India chairman Rajnish Kumar and former Infosys chief financial officer Mohandas Pai on a recently-constituted board advisory committee (BAC).Last month, Byju’s founder and CEO Byju Raveendran had told shareholders that the company will form a BAC for advice and guidance on composition of the board and the governance structure at the beleaguered edtech major.
The company is currently facing multiple challenges ranging from director resignations and legal tussles surrounding a $1.2 billion loan, to layoffs across the organisation to save capital. News on the resignations of three board members came the same day when auditor Deloitte disclosed it was resigning because Byju’s had delayed releasing financial statements for 2021-22, and had not provided documents even after it wrote several letters to the board.
ET reported last week that Byju’s may have to pay an additional $50-60 million annually in interest on its $1.2 billion term-loan facility as part of new terms with lenders. ET also separately reported that Byju’s and New York-based investor Davidson Kempner Capital have begun negotiations to settle their dispute over the breach of a loan covenant linked to the startup’s test preparation subsidiary, Aakash Institute.
