Binny Bansal (born 1982/1983) is an Indian billionaire[2][3] Internet entrepreneur.[3] As of February 2024, his net worth was estimated at US$1.4 billion.[1] In 2007 he co-founded the e-commerce platform Flipkart.[4][5] He was the chief operating officer until January 2016, when he was promoted to chief executive officer (CEO).[6] In January 2017 he was promoted to group CEO, then resigned in November 2018 due to personal misconduct allegations of Flipkart.[7] He is an anchor investor in the venture firm 021 Capital.[8] In 2019, Bansal invested in the endowment fund of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.[9]
Binny Bansal | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982 or 1983 (age 41–42)[1] |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | IIT Delhi |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder, former chairman and CEO, Flipkart[2] |
| Spouse | Trisha Bansal |
Early life
editBinny Bansal was born around 1982/1983.[2] His father was a chief manager at a bank and his mother is in the government sector.[10] He is originally from Chandigarh, the capital city of Punjab and Haryana. He was educated at St. Anne's Convent School, Chandigarh.[11] [12] He studied software programming at IIT Delhi.[2] He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi with a degree in computer science and engineering.[12][13]
Career
editAmazon
editAfter college, he worked at Sarnoff Corporation, and then in January 2007 he joined Amazon as a software engineer.[2]
Early in his career, Binny was employed by Amazon for nine months, and before that, he had been rejected by Google twice.[14] he quit Amazon to co-found Flipkart.[2]
Founding Flipkart
editIn 2007 he co-founded the e-commerce platform Flipkart.[4] His business partner, Sachin Bansal, unrelated, also came from Chandigarh,[15] and had been a fellow student at IIT Delhi,[2] studying computer science engineering.
He and his co-founder pooled $6000 for startup costs and started operating out of their apartment.[8]
Before co-founding Flipkart, Binny Bansal and his business partner Sachin Bansal initially thought of starting a comparison search engine but realized that the market for E-commerce in India was very small. Hence, after leaving Amazon in 2007, they founded Flipkart as an e-commerce company. Before joining Amazon, Binny had worked with Sarnoff Corporation for a year and a half,[16] where he developed a lane sensor device for cars which would warn you and beep automatically if you changed lanes without giving a signal.[citation needed]
CEO of Flipkart
editHe served as the chief operating officer until 11 January 2016, when he was promoted to chief executive officer (CEO).[6]
In 2016, Binny Bansal became the CEO of Flipkart, where he worked on strategic development, direction and business management.[6]
In 2017, he assumed the role of CEO of Flipkart Group and his previous position was handed to Kalyan Krishnamurthy.[17]
In 2018, Walmart acquired a 77% stake in the Flipkart Group. After the acquisition, Binny Bansal assumed the role of chairman and continued as Group CEO.[18] His 5.5% stake in Flipkart was valued at $1 billion after the acquisition.[19][20]
He resigned from Flipkart in November 2018 on allegations of personal misconduct.[21] According to the Wall Street Journal, a Walmart investigation failed to find evidence to corroborate sexual assault claims against him but revealed "other poor judgement calls" in how he had handled what he termed a consensual affair with a former Flipkart employee in 2016.[22]
Binny Bansal resigned from the executive team on 28 January 2024, and has completely divested his stake. In the last year, Binny, along with Excel and Tiger Global Management, sold their entire stake to Walmart, resulting in Binny earning $1.5 billion. Walmart acquired a 77% stake in Flipkart for $16 billion in May 2018.[23]
Investing
editHe is currently an anchor investor in the venture firm 021 Capital which focuses on investing in the fields of biotechnology, agritech, and the internet.[8]
He is also an angel investor in multiple startups, including BrightCHAMPS, Virgio, Flash, Hire Quotient and Glints.[24][25]
In 2019, he invested 125 crores in the endowment fund of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.[9]
He also helped back about 47 companies so far spread across 64 funding rounds which include 28 deals in the seed stage, 14 in the early and 4 in late stage.[26]
Awards and recognition
editIn September 2015, Binny Bansal along with Sachin Bansal, was named the 86th richest person in India with a net worth of $1.3 billion by Forbes India Rich List.[27] Afterwards, India Today ranked him #26th along with Sachin Bansal in India's 50 Most powerful people of 2017 list.[28]
Personal life
editBansal currently resides in Bangalore.[10] He has twin sons with his wife Trisha Bansal,[29] a homemaker.[2][10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Forbes profile: Binny Bansal". Forbes. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Verma, Mihir Dalal (13 January 2016). "Flipkart's other Bansal comes to the fore". Mint. LiveMint.
- ^ a b Srikar Muthyala (29 September 2015). "The List Great Entrepreneurs of India in 2015". MyBTechLife. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016.
- ^ a b Punj, Deepshikha (17 September 2011). "Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal proudly owns flipkart.com, the biggest online bookstore in India". India Today.
- ^ "Flipkart sales hit whopping $1 bn, Sachin and Binny Bansal 'run rate' stupendous". The Financial Express. 9 March 2014.
- ^ a b c "Flipkart flips CEO post, Binny Bansal replaces Sachin Bansal". Livemint. 12 January 2016.
- ^ "Kalyan Krishnamurthy to take over as Flipkart CEO, Binny Bansal Group CEO - FactorDaily". factordaily.com. 9 January 2017. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
- ^ a b c "Binny Bansal". Forbes.
- ^ a b "IIT दिल्ली को इन 2 पूर्व छात्रों ने दिए 125 करोड़, करते हैं ये बिजनेस". आज तक (in Hindi). 31 October 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Mookerji, Nivedita (5 August 2014). "flipkart ceo wanted to be a gamer snapdeal chief a food and film critic". Business Standard India. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
- ^ "St. AnneS CONVENT SCHOOL,". sacschd.in.
- ^ a b "Flipkart success story revealed! Meet Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal". dailybhaskar. 9 December 2013.
- ^ "What Flipkart's Funds Mean for its Rivals". Forbes India. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ "Before I got into Amazon, Google rejected me twice. But that did not stop me from starting Flipkart: Binny Bansal". Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ "Binny Bansal". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ "Flipkart success story revealed! Meet Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal". Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ "Flipkart appoints Kalyan Krishnamurthy as new CEO". The Hindu. 9 January 2017.
- ^ "Walmart acquires Flipkart for $16 billion in world's largest e-commerce deal". Economic Times. 10 May 2018.
- ^ "Is Binny Bansal saying bye to Flipkart in the Walmart sellout?". Factor Daily. 26 April 2018. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ "Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal's Flipkart journey: From Kart to Mart". The New Indian Express. 10 May 2018.
- ^ "Flipkart and Walmart statement on Binny Bansal". news.walmart.com. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ Purnell, Newley; Nassauer, Sarah (13 November 2018). "Walmart's Flipkart CEO Steps Down in Wake of Misconduct Allegation". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Why Binny Bansal Left Flipkart Exploring the Move and the Rise of OppDoor". 29 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ "One-year-old ed-tech startup BrightChamps is now valued at half a billion, after $63 million round led by Premji Invests and Flipkart's Binny Bansal". Business Insider. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ "Ritesh Agarwal, Sachin Bansal, And Other Entrepreneurs Who Turned Angel Investors - Wearing Two Hats". The Economic Times. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Binny Bansal: India's prolific startup investor". Fortuneindia. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
- ^ "Forbes India rich list: Mukesh Ambani tops for 9th year, Flipkart's Bansals debut at 86th slot". Firstpost. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ^ "India's 50 powerful people". India Today. 14 April 2017.
- ^ Karmali, Naazneen. "E-Commerce Entrepreneur Seeks To Mentor And Invest In Startups From Singapore". Forbes. Retrieved 6 January 2023.