Flipkart Appoints Hemant Badri to Lead AI Transformation Charter Ahead of IPO

Ecommerce giant Flipkart has appointed Hemant Badri to lead its artificial intelligence transformation charter, as the Walmart-owned company steps up its push to become an AI-first organisation, CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said in an internal email, according to PTI.

Badri, who serves as senior vice president and head of supply chain, customer experience, and re-commerce, will focus on identifying and operationalising business use cases where AI can deliver the greatest impact.

Badri’s Role

He will work alongside Chief Technology Officer Balaji Thiagarajan, who will continue to guide the One Tech organisation and lead the company’s technology strategy and engineering efforts toward building an AI-native Flipkart.

Krishnamurthy said the initiative is part of a broader organisational shift aimed at preparing the company for the next decade. In the email, he emphasised that AI should be central to Flipkart’s operations, enabling more intuitive customer experiences, improved tools for sellers, and enhanced internal productivity by automating routine tasks and allowing teams to focus on innovation.

At the same time, he underscored the importance of maintaining a human-in-the-loop approach, with technology designed to augment, rather than replace, human judgement.

Badri’s Expertise

The CEO said Badri was selected for the role due to his strong operational expertise and his ability to translate AI capabilities into practical business outcomes across the organisation.

He added that the transformation would require ownership across functions and teams, not just within the technology division. Badri’s mandate, he noted, is to ensure that AI is deployed in areas where it can create the most value for customers, sellers, and employees.

The move comes as Flipkart and other new-age companies increasingly integrate AI into day-to-day operations to reduce friction and improve efficiency. For Flipkart, the shift is also strategically important as it seeks to enhance performance ahead of a planned stock market listing later this year.

With a user base of around 500 million, the rollout of AI tools across Flipkart’s ecosystem could serve as a significant lever for scale, productivity, and customer engagement.