Deepinder Goyal, founder and CEO of Zomato, has resigned from his role as CEO of the company's parent entity Eternal, according to The Hindu. Albinder Singh Dhindsa, CEO of Blinkit, will take over the role.
The leadership transition comes as Zomato restructures its corporate hierarchy following its transformation from a food delivery startup into a diversified consumer internet company. Eternal serves as the holding company for Zomato's various businesses, including Blinkit, its quick-commerce arm that has become a major growth driver.
Goyal will continue as CEO of Zomato itself, focusing on the core food delivery business while Dhindsa oversees the broader group strategy. The move reflects the growing importance of Blinkit, which Zomato acquired in 2022 and has since expanded aggressively across Indian cities.
For the millions of gig workers who deliver for these platforms, the corporate reshuffling at the top means little change to their daily reality. Ramesh Kumar, a delivery rider in Delhi, earns roughly 25,000 rupees monthly working 12-hour shifts. "They can change CEOs ten times," he told reporters. "My fuel costs and income stay the same."
A billion people aren't a statistic - they're a billion stories. Behind Zomato's market capitalization of over $10 billion are 350,000 delivery partners whose livelihoods depend on the algorithms and incentive structures these executives design.
The quick-commerce sector has exploded in India, with Blinkit competing against Swiggy Instamart and Zepto to deliver groceries within 10-15 minutes. This has created hundreds of thousands of jobs but also intensified pressure on workers to meet impossibly tight delivery windows.
India's gig economy now employs an estimated 7.7 million workers, according to NITI Aayog data, with food and grocery delivery forming the largest segment. As these platforms chase profitability and market share, the question of worker welfare - fair wages, social security, accident insurance - remains largely unanswered.
Goyal's tenure at Zomato has been marked by aggressive expansion, controversial workplace policies, and a successful IPO in 2021 that valued the company at $8.6 billion. The transition to Dhindsa signals Zomato's bet that quick commerce, not restaurant delivery, represents the future of urban Indian consumption.
For investors and tech observers, this is about corporate strategy. For the delivery riders navigating Mumbai's traffic or Bangalore's notoriously confusing addresses, it's another day in India's high-speed, low-wage digital economy.
