Deepinder Goyal steps down as CEO of Eternal Group; tells shareholders in a letter: Expectations, legal and otherwise, of a public company CEO in India demand …
Deepinder Goyal will no longer be the CEO of Zomato‘s parent company, Eternal. He is set to step down from his executive role effective February 1, 2026. Blinkit CEO Albinder Singh Dhindsa is set to replace him as the company’s new chief executive. However, the company has confirmed that Goyal will transition to a non-executive position as Director and Vice Chairman of the Board, pending shareholder approval. In a filing named “Q3FY26 Shareholders letter and results”, the company confirmed, “Deepinder Goyal has tendered his resignation as Director, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, effective close of business on February 1, 2026. Albinder Singh Dhindsa has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company with effect from February 1, 2026. Further, the Board of Directors (“Board”) recommended the appointment of Deepinder Goyal as the Director and Vice Chairman of the Board, effective upon shareholders’ approval.”In a letter to to shareholders, explaining the reason behind this change, Goyal wrote: “Of late, I have found myself drawn to a set of new ideas that involve significantly higher-risk exploration and experimentation.These are the kinds of ideas that are better pursued outside a public company like Eternal. If these ideas belonged inside Eternal’s strategic scope, I would have pursued them within the company. They do not. Eternal deserves to remain focused, and disciplined, while exploring new areas of growth that are relevant to its current line of business. While I believe I personally have the bandwidth to continue what I am doing at Eternal, and also explore new ideas outside of it, the expectations, legal and otherwise, of a public company CEO in India demand singular focus.”
Read Deepinder Goyal’s full letter that he sent to shareholders
Goyal posted multiple screenshots of a letter he sent to shareholders on X (formerly Twitter) to explain his decision to step down from his role at the company. He wrote: “Dear Shareholders,Today, I am going to step away from the Group CEO role, and subject to shareholders’ approval, will remain on the board of directors as Vice Chairman. Albinder Dhindsa (Albi) will be Eternal’s new Group CEO.Why this changeOf late, I have found myself drawn to a set of new ideas that involve significantly higher-risk exploration and experimentation.These are the kinds of ideas that are better pursued outside a public company like Eternal. If these ideas belonged inside Eternal’s strategic scope, I would have pursued them within the company. They do not. Eternal deserves to remain focused, and disciplined, while exploring new areas of growth that are relevant to its current line of business.While I believe I personally have the bandwidth to continue what I am doing at Eternal, and also explore new ideas outside of it, the expectations, legal and otherwise, of a public company CEO in India demand singular focus.This transition allows Eternal to remain sharply focused, while giving me the space to explore ideas that do not fit Eternal’s risk profile.What doesn’t changeI have spent eighteen years, almost half my life, building this company. I will continue doing that.Albi, Akshant, and I will continue to work closely together, as we always have. Our partnership, shared context, and trust remain unchanged. All our business CEOs will continue operating with the autonomy they have always had.My involvement in long-term strategy, culture, leadership development, and ethics and governance, continues. This is where I have increasingly focused lately anyway.What changesThe centre of gravity for operating decisions moves to Albi.As Group CEO, he will own day-to-day execution, operating priorities, and business decisions.Blinkit’s journey from acquisition to breakeven happened under his leadership. He built the team, the culture, the supply chain, the operating rhythm. He has the DNA of a battle-hardened founder and his ability to execute far exceeds mine. He is more than capable of leading Eternal as Group CEO.Blinkit remains our largest growth opportunity and will remain as Albi’s top priority. Our decentralized structure, where each business has a CEO with full ownership, continues unchanged – and will help Albi execute this well.On alignment and ESOPsMy financial future remains meaningfully tied to Eternal, and my incentives remain aligned with long-term shareholder value creation.As part of this transition, all of my unvested ESOPs will revert to the ESOP pool. This ensures that Eternal continues to have meaningful wealth-creation opportunities for its next generation of leaders, while strengthening long-term retention without incremental shareholder dilution.Looking aheadEighteen years ago, the idea that a menu scanning company could be worth tens of billions of dollars, provide livelihoods to hundreds of thousands of people, and serve millions of families daily would have seemed absurd. We helped prove it was possible. And there’s a lot in store for Eternal to do over the next few decades.I believe Eternal is not going to lose focus or momentum through this change. Rather, it is reinforcing its institutional strength. And personally, I gain the flexibility to explore ideas that sit outside Eternal’s scope, without compromising the company’s priorities.I want Eternal to become India’s most valuable company. I want us to serve a billion customers. I want us to create the most positive impact on society. I want us to be the source of livelihoods for millions of Indians. None of that changes.This is a change in title, not in commitment towards outcomes. Eternal remains my life’s work.Thank you for your continued trust and support.Deepinder Goyal”
