Swiggy Instamart head goes on a sabbatical; cites compromises on 'physical & mental well-being'

Popular quick commerce service Swiggy Instamart's head Karthik Gurumurthy will step down by the end of April, the top executive confimed in a Linkedin post on Friday.

Gurumurthy has plans of going to a sabbatical. "I have loved being a part of this journey but this journey has been arduous with lot of compromises on physical & mental wellbeing. I plan to take a sabbatical now to come back afresh and build something (0-1), something which I have loved... Live back and playback those memories of 2020 and 2021," his LinkedIn post read.

“Today the business continues to grow, great relationship with our brand partners and with few of our stores already being profitable, it just feels how the seed germinated into a sampling and is now a big strong tree,” he added further.

He added that the journey had been arduous and it involved a “lot of compromises on physical & mental well-being”.

He will be succeeded by Swiggy co-founder, Phani Kishan Addepalli, he confirmed in the LinkedIn post. He wrote, "The business will be spearheaded by Phani Kishan Addepalli, a great leader and our co-founder who will take this to the next orbit."

Though Gurumurthy has decided to take a sabbatical from his current role, he has not bid adieu to Swiggy altogether, and as per sources Business Today spoke with, his next role will also be within the food aggregator company.

“I take this break to rejuvenate myself through this sabbatical (and not because of the 13 Mn$ gap :D).. we value our people a lot and want to build a sports team with a heart,” he added in the comments of his post.

Instamart is the second biggest business of the food aggregator company Swiggy. According to a report from the market intelligence firm Prosus, quick commerce in India has grown 20 times in the first six months of 2022, with GMV at $257 million for that period.

Instamart was launched in 2020 amid the COVID-19 lockdown as the quick commerce delivery segment saw a surge.

Phani Kishan Addepalli spearheads the company's InsanelyGood business. He was elevated as co-founder of Swiggy in July 2021, six years after he joined the Bengaluru-based firm.