Deepinder Goyal steps down as Zomato CEO; Blinkit head Albinder Dhindsa to take over

Deepinder Goyal has stepped down as Group Chief Executive Officer of Eternal Limited, the parent company of food delivery platform Zomato, with Albinder Dhindsa, currently the chief executive of quick-commerce arm Blinkit, appointed as the new Group CEO.

The leadership change was announced by Goyal in a letter to shareholders posted on X. He said Dhindsa would take charge of day-to-day execution, operating priorities and business decisions across the group. “As Group CEO, he will own day-to-day execution, operating priorities, and business decisions,” Goyal said.

Goyal will remain on the board of directors as Vice Chairman and continue to be involved in long-term strategy, culture, leadership development, ethics and governance. Explaining the move, he said he has increasingly been drawn towards ideas involving “higher-risk experimentation and exploration”, which are better pursued outside a listed company.

“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,” he said, adding that Eternal needs to remain disciplined and sharply focused on its core business strategy.

The transition comes at a time when Zomato and its leadership have faced scrutiny over labour issues and public remarks by the founder. In recent months, sections of delivery partners had gone on strike in multiple cities, protesting issues related to payouts, incentives and working conditions. The company had said it was engaging with delivery partners and reviewing concerns, but the protests drew attention to gig worker grievances in the food delivery sector.

Goyal has also courted controversy over some of his public comments in recent times, which sparked criticism on social media and among labour groups, adding to pressure on the company’s leadership amid heightened regulatory and public scrutiny of platform-based businesses.

“Most of our delivery partners did not want to go on a strike yesterday. The 0.1% miscreants I mentioned in the tweet below were illegally snatching parcels from those who wanted to work, beating them up, and threatening to damage their bikes. Which is why local law authorities had to intervene on their own," Goyal had remarked.

Goyal said the leadership change would not affect Eternal’s momentum. “I believe Eternal is not going to lose focus or momentum through this change. Rather, it is reinforcing its institutional strength,” he said.

As part of the transition, Goyal said all his unvested ESOPs would revert to the ESOP pool to ensure continued wealth-creation opportunities for future leaders without additional shareholder dilution.

The announcement follows Eternal reporting a sequential rise in third-quarter profit, driven largely by strong demand for Blinkit’s quick-delivery services. Dhindsa’s elevation is seen as a move to strengthen operational execution as the group navigates growth, scrutiny and workforce-related challenges.