Former Housing CEO Jason Kothari joins Snapdeal as chief investment officer
As Snapdeal's chief strategy and investment officer, Jason Kothari will lead Snapdeal's fund-raising efforts and manage all its portfolio companies
New Delhi: Snapdeal, run by Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd, Wednesday named former Housing.com chief executive officer (CEO) Jason Kothari as its chief strategy and investment officer.
Kothari stepped down from his role at the Mumbai-based Locon Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which runs Housing.com, after the company merged with PropTiger on Tuesday.
In his new role, Kothari will oversee investments and strategic partnerships. He will lead Snapdeal’s fund-raising efforts and manage all its portfolio companies. He will join on 16 January.
While resigning from Housing.com, Kothari had said “he is moving out to pursue another opportunity in the internet space.”
Kothari who joined Housing.com in August 2015 was named CEO of the property website in November 2015 after the ouster of its founding CEO Rahul Yadav. Softbank, a leading investor in Housing.com, is also an investor in Snapdeal.
In his year-and-a-half stint at Housing.com, Kothari restructured the company’s management team, moved the focus to buying and selling from rentals and downsized the workforce in a bid to improve operational efficiencies.
Prior to joining Housing.com, Kothari was CEO and vice-chairman of US-based entertainment company Valiant Entertainment. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
His appointment at Snapdeal comes at a time of sluggishness in India’s e-commerce space, as Flipkart and Amazon India, leaders in the market, engage in a neck-to-neck battle to emerge at the top.
Snapdeal is also aggressively trying to raise its marketshare in the hyper-competitive market. The company recently underwent a massive branding overhaul—releasing a new tagline and logo—in a bid to differentiate itself from the competition and shift focus to consumer experience, Mint reported in September. Snapdeal had started out as a deals site with deep discounts and the lowest prices, in 2010.
Snapdeal is also looking for a fresh funding round, where Kothari is expected to play a critical role. The company had raised $200 million in February last year led by Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which valued it at $6.5 billion.
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Business NewsCompaniesStart-upsFormer Housing CEO Jason Kothari joins Snapdeal as chief investment officer
First Published:11 Jan 2017, 08:12 PM IST
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