The board of BharatPe issued a statement on Wednesday, saying that the company’s founder Ashneer Grover is going on leave for some time. Shortly thereafter, Moneycontrol spoke to BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer and tried to understand the reasons behind this decision. Sameer told that Grover will not participate in the day-to-day business of the company during this period and will focus on his personality during the holidays. He told that he will join the company back soon.
Sameer’s remarks came after Moneycontrol reported that BharatPe’s board has decided to send Ashneer Grover on leave from the company for a period of time. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation:
What will change in BharatPe with Ashneer Grover going on leave?
Nothing changes in BharatPe. I was the CEO of BharatPe and will continue to be the CEO. Ashneer was always the founder and will continue to be so. Ashneer himself had proposed to the Board to go on leave as he was very clear to them that it was a planned attack. In such a situation, he decided to distance himself from the company, so that if people continue to attack him in the future, then it does not affect BharatPe.
None of the board members ever suggested Ashneer to go on leave. Ashneer himself had put it in front of everyone for the first time a few days ago. All of us then rejected his offer.
BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover goes on voluntary leave till March end
When did Ashneer put this suggestion before the board?
On the very first day of the dispute. When the first article about this was published in the media. He said that I do not want to let my personal position with Kotak come to the fore on BharatPe and I want to settle this matter amicably as well. At that time we were all thinking that he was over-reacting. But then he kept on insisting on it and then we also saw the merit of his arguments after some time.
So you turned down Ashneer’s suggestion first?
Not only me, Ashneer’s proposal was rejected by the board. He said that he is being attacked but it should not come down to the company. We all discussed with Ashneer. He clarified his point of view. We all discussed each other and to be honest we had the shortest conversation ever. We all unanimously said to Ashneer – Your brain is not working. Nothing like this is happening. All this is just a matter of few days, which will be over in a pinch. But then it didn’t end. During this, Ashneer has been constantly emphasizing that all this will not end until a person named Ashneer Grover separates himself from BharatPe. So it was all Ashnari’s personal recommendation and then we finally agreed to send him on leave. We all unanimously accepted the proposal which was rejected unanimously earlier.
What will be the role of Ashneer for the next few months?
There will be no role. He will continue to be a member of the board, but will not be involved in the day-to-day business of the company. He is not going to come to office till the holiday. Rather, he would generally use this time to carve out the personal and business dimensions and figure out what we should be doing as a company.
This is an opportunity for them to think about what more we should do in BharatPe. How should we change the calculation of profit and loss if we want to reach IPO at some point? He will also spend some of his time on personal contemplation and drenching himself with renewed vigor. He has been working tirelessly for the last four years.
This is the full story behind BharatPe’s Ashneer Grover going on leave
Could this be a sign of their exit altogether?
Not at all. Ashneer is not going anywhere. He is the founder of BharatPe. He is an integral part of BharatPe.
Will Ashneer’s retirement from life give you and Bhavik Koladia bigger roles in the company?
No. I am CEO for 8-9 months. Most of the company executives used to report to me in advance. Maybe some more will be added now. Ashneer already used to spend most of his time on fund raising, reputation management etc. So there is not going to be any significant change in anyone’s role in the team.
What are your employees saying about this? How will you address their concerns?
We organized a townhall to interact with the employees. Whatever media people write, our work-culture is very friendly. We are incredibly connected with each other. Running a startup is not everyone’s business. We told through townhall what the management of the company is thinking and what are the advantages and disadvantages of the company.
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