PepsiCo’s Vishal Kaul is Ola's COO, Pranay Jivrajka appointed as founding partner

PepsiCo’s Vishal Kaul is Ola's COO, Pranay Jivrajka appointed as founding partner 

NEW DELHI: Ola today announced the appointment of PepsiCo's Vishal Kaul as its chief operating officer (COO) replacing Pranay Jivrajka, the taxi app's first employee. Jivrajka has been appointed as a founding partner and will continue to work closely with Ola's co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, the company said. TOI was the first to report Kaul replacing Jivrajka on Monday. As COO, Kaul will head Ola's operations and expand its reach. The mobility opportunity is massive with over 300 million trips happening every single day in urban India. Ola's operations are currently spread across around 100 cities. Aggarwal, said, "I'm thrilled about Vishal joining Ola to lead our operations. Vishal's energy is palpable and I have really enjoyed my interactions with him since we began interacting a few months ago. He is a passionate and experienced business leader with a demonstrated ability to drive business towards growth and profitability. His intuitive understanding of consumer businesses, ecosystem management experience and market understanding is invaluable. I look forward to partnering with him as we expand our reach and build Ola to serve the needs of every single Indian."

Kaul, on his appointment said, "I am delighted to join Ola and be part of solving for the mobility needs for a billion Indians. Ola has redefined the mobility experience in every way for Indians in all walks of life. Bhavish, Ankit, Pranay and the entire team at Ola have built something that has immense impact on our country and what excites me even more, is the immense opportunity to build from here and create lasting national value."

Kaul has worked with PepsiCo across various functions and roles for over 18 years. He holds a Bachelors in Engineering from Punjab Engineering College and an MBA from Symbiosis Centre for Management & HRD.

Speaking on Jivrajka's new role, Aggarwal said,"Pranay has been a partner with Ankit and me in every single brick that has been laid since inception, from 1 booking a day to over a million bookings a day now! Over the past 6-8 months Pranay has been working with me closely on many key strategic initiatives and I congratulate him on his new role as a founding partner. This organisational change will enable him to focus on these initiatives much more sharply."