Two top-level executives at Ola Electric have resigned from their respective roles as head of strategy & planning, and head of partnerships & corporate affairs in the company, people aware of the development told Mint.
Saurabh Sharda, head of partnerships & corporate affairs, and Slokarth Dash, strategy head, are also two of the oldest employees at Bhavish Agarwal-run Ola Electric, India’s most valuable and largest manufacturer of electric two-wheelers at present. Each of them has spent close to eight years at the Ola Group, first in the cabs business, and then taking on key roles at Ola Electric once the company was formed.
Separately, two other senior executives are also on their way out, multiple people close to the development said. The executives are in discussions with the company to exit and are likely to depart in a month or two, these people said. The executives declined to comment and an Ola spokesperson said they were not leaving the company.
Ola Electric’s rapid ascent to the top of the electric two-wheeler market in India has been riddled with high levels of attrition, especially at the top leadership levels, amid a culture that emphasizes speed and crunching timelines to near-impossible and unprecedented ends.
The company is currently in the process of filing draft IPO papers for a public listing as soon as early next year. It has appointed Goldman Sachs and Kotak Mahindra Capital to manage a potential initial public offering in early 2024, two people aware of the matter said.
“This is a mischievous attempt to build a fake narrative. At Ola, we’ve built a world-class and highly experienced leadership team and hired more than 50 veterans just in the last year from Indian & global firms like Tesla, Apple, LG, among others. India is the future hub for tech and top global talent is eagerly joining new age companies like ours. Ola is the largest EV company in India thanks to the efforts of our world class team. Slokarth and Saurabh have delivered well for the company for 7+ years and we wish them well in their future pursuits.”, an Ola spokesperson said.
