In one of the major board appointments by the Indian start-ups, taxi hailing services provider Ola has roped in former Vodafone global CEO Arun Sarin as an Independent Director.
Mr. Sarin, in his capacity as an Independent Director will contribute in an advisory role to Ola’s overall business strategy that will further drive growth and leadership in the market.
Earlier, last week Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata has acquired stake in Ola and the company had claimed it as a huge endorsement
The key appointment of Mr. Sarin comes at a time when Indian taxi hailing services provider like Ola and its subsidiary Taxi For Sure are facing tough competition from rival Uber. Recently, Uber has announced its entry into seven more cities in India. Now with presence in around 18 cities, India has become the largest geographical market for the Uber after the US.
Commenting on Arun’s joining the board, Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Co-founder, Ola said, “Arun brings a global perspective and a strong understanding of emerging markets like India. His experience in management and in growing large companies is invaluable to Ola. Arun is globally respected as a business icon and we at Ola will stand to benefit from his mentorship and guidance.”
Mr. Sarin served as the Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Group Plc from 2003 to 2008. He was the driving force behind expansion into emerging markets like, India, Turkey and Africa and growing the data and Internet businesses globally.
It was under his leadership Vodafone grew to become a global brand with over 300 million customers and had a market capitalization of $150 billion.
On his appointment to the board, Arun Sarin said, “Ola is creating immense value in the transportation and mobility space in India. The company has scaled rapidly to benefit customers and partners using technology and innovative business models. Bhavish is an outstanding entrepreneur with a good team around him.”
Arun Sarin has served on numerous Boards including The Gap and the Court of the Bank of England and also served as a Senior Advisor to KKR, a global private equity group. He is currently a non-executive director of Cisco, Charles Schwab and Blackhawk Networks.
