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upGrad appoints Mukesh Mundra as CFO

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UpGrad is an online upskilling platform offering courses from top universities

It has appointed Mukesh Mundra as CFO, replacing Venkatesh Tarakkad

The appointment awaits CCI approval for its all-stock acquisition of Unacademy

upGrad has appointed Mukesh Mundra as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
He replaces Venkatesh Tarakkad, who had been CFO since March 2024.
Mundra is a chartered accountant and certified financial analyst with over 26 years of experience.
He was previously head of finance at JioStar and served as CFO of Viacom18 Media for over 8 years.
Earlier roles include Idea Cellular (worked on Spice Communications acquisition and Indus Towers JV), Grasim Industries, and Anand Rathi Group.
Mundra will lead finance and administration, including financial strategy, governance, business partnering, and operational scale-building.
The appointment awaits CCI approval for upGrad's all-stock acquisition of Unacademy.

The Unacademy acquisition is an all-stock deal valued at around ₹2,055 crore ($218 million).
Unacademy's peak valuation was $3.4 billion in 2021.
The acquisition will help upGrad enter the online test preparation segment and broaden offerings for existing users.
Unacademy is expected to hold cash reserves of ₹900-950 crore at deal close.
Sumit Jain, Unacademy co-founder and CEO of test prep business, stepped down from his full-time operating role; his last executive day is June 30.

upGrad is India's top upskilling platform, offering online courses from universities like IITs, IIMs, IIIT Bangalore, MICA, ISM Germany, O.P. Jindal, ESGCI Paris, Touro University, Golden Gate University, and Northeastern University.
Courses include AI, data science, machine learning, cybersecurity, MBA, DBA, digital marketing, management, and study abroad programs.
It also offers free courses and Microsoft Generative AI certificate programs.