Info Edge CEO Change: Bikhchandani Returns as Hitesh Oberoi Exits

A founder steps back in

Info Edge (India), the company behind Naukri.com, is changing its top leadership in an unusual way. It is not handing control to a new generation. Founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani will take back the chief executive's job after Hitesh Oberoi leaves the post he has held for more than 16 years. In a stock exchange filing on October 28, the company said Oberoi will give up his roles as managing director and CEO at the close of business on December 2. Bikhchandani, now founder and vice chairman, becomes executive vice chairman, managing director and group CEO from December 3.1 Both moves still need shareholder approval.1

Oberoi is not leaving the company entirely. The Nomination and Remuneration Committee recommended him, and the board approved him, as an additional director in the promoter category, classed as non-executive and non-independent, from December 3. He will be liable to retire by rotation.10 Bikhchandani's new executive term runs to April 26, 2031, matching the director term shareholders approved in August 2025.16 Unlike Oberoi, he will not be subject to retirement by rotation.16

The board met on October 28 from 10:30 am to 1:45 pm, according to the filing.11 Oberoi's resignation letter was dated a day earlier, October 27.3

How the coverage told the story

Nearly every outlet worked from the same filing, the company's press release and a widely syndicated PTI wire story, so the basic facts match across the coverage.147 Where reports differ is in how they frame Oberoi's tenure. Some headlines say he is leaving "after 27 years", which counts his whole time at the company.35 At least one headline says "after 16 years", which counts only his time as CEO.6 Both numbers are correct. The 27-year figure tells the bigger story: Oberoi was a builder of the company from its early days, not a professional manager brought in later.

There was also a mistake in one widely shared summary. A Rediff key-points box dated the handover to December 2024.7 The body of the same article, and every other report, says the change happens in December 2026.512 Small errors like this tend to spread through aggregators, which is a reason to rely on the filing itself.

The bigger split is over whether the exit came as a surprise. Earnings-call summaries on Yahoo Finance and a Hinglish market site called it a "surprise exit".2422 Oberoi described it differently. In his letter he said he had been weighing the decision for some time, that it was not easy, and that he had wanted to see certain things through before stepping back.310 Both can be true. Investors were caught off guard, while inside the company the decision appears to have been made calmly. The orderly five-week handover supports that reading.

Oberoi's own account

Oberoi gave more detail about why he is leaving than departing CEOs usually do. In his letter he said Naukri now has a clear AI and data strategy, 99acres leads its market and generates cash, Jeevansathi and Aisle are profitable, and Job Hai has built a way to make money.3 He also said the quality of the team was what he was proudest of. He pointed to senior leaders with more than 20 years at the company and younger managers ready for more responsibility.7

He said he wants more time for higher education, entrepreneurship, investing, philanthropy and his family.12 On the analyst call, asked about his stake, he said he owns well over 5%, has no plan to sell, and remains financially and emotionally attached to the company. He described himself as stepping down from his operating role "but not stepping away".25 That comment matters. A large shareholder who stays on the board is a very different exit from a departure after a dispute.

The tributes followed the usual pattern. Bikhchandani called Oberoi "an extraordinary partner" and said much of today's Info Edge reflects his leadership and judgement.12 In a lighter note, he also called him an Amitabh Bachchan fan and a great storyteller with a wicked sense of humour.11 Chairman Kapil Kapoor credited Oberoi's focus on execution and strategy through competitive and economic cycles, and said the company was well prepared for the change.12

The record he leaves

According to the company, Info Edge's market value rose from about ₹2,500 crore to about ₹80,000 crore during Oberoi's 16 years as CEO.215 That figure comes from the company itself, but no outlet questioned it. Under his leadership, Info Edge grew beyond job listings into property, matrimony, education and blue-collar hiring through Naukri, 99acres, Jeevansathi, Shiksha and Jobhai.5 It also used cash from those businesses to invest in Indian startups, some of which later listed on the stock market on their own.7

He leaves on strong recent results. For the September quarter, standalone revenue rose 12.8% year on year to ₹841.7 crore, operating profit before tax rose 29.8% to ₹347.3 crore, and standalone net profit rose 36% to ₹333.9 crore.21 AI-based products reached an annualised run rate of about ₹240 crore.21 Oberoi said that figure is roughly ₹60 crore of quarterly AI revenue multiplied by four, and that it is mostly new revenue rather than sales taken from existing products.25 At 99acres, operating losses fell from ₹23 crore to under ₹2 crore.22

Not everything is going well. Shiksha's billings fell 27% in the quarter. Management blamed changes in AI-driven search, which cut the referral traffic the education portal depends on. Oberoi also said IT companies are mostly replacing staff who leave rather than adding headcount, a headwind for Naukri's core market.

The real story is the gap in management

One detail did not appear in most headlines. At the same time, Pawan Goyal, a whole-time director and Naukri's chief business officer, also resigned after seven years.13 On the call, an analyst asked directly how the company planned to fill the vacant CBO role after several senior departures.25

That, more than the founder's return, is the key to reading this change. Bikhchandani said openly that no decision has been made on the future structure at the top or on outside hires. He also admitted that, at his age, he cannot stay in the role indefinitely, and said the situation should settle first.13 He said nothing would be done in a hurry and that internal candidates would get the first chance.25 He added that he would listen closely to Oberoi, the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and current managers before deciding.

In our reading, this is a stopgap, not a succession plan. Info Edge has not named a next-generation leader. It has put its most trusted person in charge while it works out who that leader should be. The new title, "group CEO", supports this view. The role sits above a set of business heads, each running a vertical, and Oberoi stressed that every vertical has a long-serving head.25 The setup looks like it is meant to hold things steady for now while new leaders are chosen over the next few months.

Why a founder makes sense here

Bringing a founder back can look like a step backwards, but Info Edge is not a typical case. The company is now both a consumer internet operator and an investor in other startups, so its top job involves deciding where to put capital as well as running products.7 Coverage notes that Bikhchandani has led much of the work on the investment portfolio, several of whose companies have since listed.16 Kapoor argued that Bikhchandani's understanding of the company's businesses, culture and values will help as it moves into its next phase.2

The risk is also clear. A temporary founder-CEO with no named successor and a vacant senior post at the flagship business leaves the outcome dependent on how quickly a second line of leaders is formalised. One earnings summary already flagged continuity concerns because no successor has been identified.24 Upcoming milestones include positive operating cash at 99acres in FY27, more AI-Rex adoption and a reworked Shiksha model. These will be the first test of whether the leadership bench Oberoi praised can deliver without him running day-to-day operations.

What to watch

The next steps are mostly procedural. Shareholders must vote on both appointments. The NRC's decisions on internal promotions or outside hires will show whether Bikhchandani's return is a short bridge or a longer stay. For now, the company is presenting a planned, friendly changeover backed by solid results. That account holds up. What it does not yet say is who will lead Info Edge after the founder steps back again.