Rajnish Kumar and Mohandas Pai to discontinue as Byju's advisors

Former SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar and ex-Infosys chief financial officer Mohandas Pai have decided to discontinue as members of Think & Learn's advisory council after a discussion with the founders, the edtech firm said on Sunday.

Raveendran Byju, the founder of Think & Learn which owns the Byju's brand, blamed a few foreign investors for delaying the company's revival, which included restructuring of the board, delay in financial results and resolving liquidity crisis by opposing the USD 200 million rights issue.

Think & Learn formed the advisory council in July 2023 to mentor and advise the edtech firm to come out of the crisis and improve governance.

"Our engagement with the company as advisors was always on a fixed-term basis for a year. 

Based on our discussions with the founders, it was mutually decided that the tenure of the advisory council should not be extended.

"Though the formal engagement concludes, the founders and the company can always approach us for any advice. We wish the founders and the company the very best for the future," Kumar and Pai said in a joint statement.

The contractual agreement is scheduled to end on June 30, 2024.

Byju's said that it values the engagement with the advisors and greatly appreciates all their efforts in navigating the company through turbulent times.

"Rajnish Kumar and Mohandas Pai have provided invaluable support in the past year. The ongoing litigations by a few foreign investors have delayed our plans but their advice will be relied upon in the ongoing rebuild which I am personally leading," Raveendran said.