Reliance Retail Brings In Flipkart Executive Jeyandran Venugopal As CEO to Lead Omni-Channel Push

Isha Ambani, executive director of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), has reportedly announced the appointment of Jeyandran Venugopal as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. He previously served as the chief product and technology officer (CPTO) at e-commerce major Flipkart.

Venugopal stepped down from Flipkart in May this year after a six-year stint.

According to reports citing an internal letter from Ambani, Venugopal will work closely with her and the leadership team of Reliance Retail under the overall guidance of Mukesh Ambani and Manoj Modi. His mandate is to strengthen the retail portfolio, accelerate omni-channel growth, and drive technological and operational excellence across RRVL’s value chain.

“His deep understanding of consumer behaviour, commercial acumen, and technology-led retail transformation will be pivotal as we shape the next phase of RRVL’s growth journey,” Ambani wrote, as reported by the Economic Times (ET).

The appointment comes days after RRVL completed the spin-off of its FMCG arm, Reliance Consumer Products Ltd (RCPL). On 1 December, RCPL was made a direct subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, the company announced in an exchange filing.

Many see the move as preparation for RRVL’s public listing. The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate also plans to list its telecom arm, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, soon.

Venugopal’s appointment also coincides with Reliance Retail’s plans to strengthen its online presence. In October, Reliance Retail CFO Dinesh Taluja told analysts that JioMart is better positioned thanks to the company’s extensive physical store network and rapid expansion of dark stores in select locations. The retailer has operationalised around 600 dark stores and continues to invest in more to boost its quick hyper-local delivery capabilities.

JioMart recorded a 42% quarter-on-quarter increase and over 200% year-on-year growth in average daily orders. According to Reliance Industries’ earnings statement, JioMart remains the fastest-growing quick hyper-local commerce platform, operating across 5,000 pin codes and supported by more than 3,000 stores in over 1,000 cities.

In the March quarter, Reliance Retail said its hyper-local delivery network covered 4,000 pin codes. The company has also expanded quick deliveries to electronics and accessories, offering 30-minute fulfilment in 10 cities, further strengthening its position in the fast-growing hyper-local market.

At Flipkart, Venugopal led large cross-functional teams across product engineering, design, data science, IT, security and infrastructure. He played a key role in driving Flipkart’s growth, customer engagement, and ecosystem expansion. Before that, he held the same role at Myntra and Jabong, and has also worked with Yahoo and Amazon Web Services. He holds dual master’s degrees in computer science and mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy.