Edtech unicorn Unacademy has appointed Sandhydeep Purri as Chief People Officer (CPO) amid a series of high-level departures from the company. Purri, with over 25 years of experience in leadership positions, has driven business growth and transformation through people and cultural initiatives.
Before joining the edtech unicorn, Purri served as CPO at Sapphire Foods, where she was responsible for HR strategies for brands including Pizza Hut and KFC. She also led organizational development and efficiency initiatives within the retail sector of the Aditya Birla Group.
“His extensive experience and expertise promise to amplify our mission and will be invaluable as we continue to grow our team and evolve as an organization.” His leadership will undoubtedly be essential in cultivating talent and championing a culture of innovation and progress within Unacademy,” said Gaurav Munjal, Co-Founder and CEO of Unacademy.
Resignation of the financial director
This comes at a time when Unacademy CFO Subramanian Ramachandran has resigned from the edtech unicorn, according to sources.
CFO Ramachandran has been with the company since 2019. The company’s exit comes at a time when Unacademy is yet to file its financial statements for FY23.
The edtech major is reeling from senior departures as the company’s chief operating officer Vivek Sinha resigned from the company in August after a tenure of nearly three years.
Restructuring
Recently, Unacademy-owned software-as-a-service platform Graphy laid off 20 to 30 percent of its workforce, or nearly 40 to 50 employees. After Relevel and PrepLadder, this is another flagship company of the group which is experiencing a crisis. Since 2022, the company has laid off at least more than 1,200 employees.
The edtech unicorn elevated Sumit Jain, who heads the company’s Graphy division, to partner, which is « like a co-founder who joined later, » according to Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO from Unacademy.
Jain joined the company in April 2020 and co-founded the Graphy division which enables educators and creators to launch their courses online.
Founded in 2015 by Munjal, Roman Saini and Hemesh Singh, Unacademy was last valued at around $3.4 billion in August 2021 when it raised $440 million from investors including Temasek and Softbank.