Ola Electric CTO Suvonil Chatterjee Quits As Top-Level Resignations Continue

Suvonil Chatterjee, chief technology and product officer at Ola Electric Mobility Ltd., has quit the company, deepening the troubles for founder billionaire Bhavish Aggarwal.

"Yes, he moved on some time back. In fact, his last working was Nov. 30," a person aware of the matter told NDTV Profit. "The company hasn't made an announcement yet since they haven't found a suitable replacement."

Chatterjee, who first joined the Ola Group as Head of Design in September 2017, was elevated to chief product officer in 2021. In November 2022, he took on the dual roles of chief technology and product officer. He was seen as the most influential personnel at the company, after Aggarwal.

Chatterjee's exit underscores the top-level exodus at India's largest electric two-wheeler maker, even as the company expands operations and battles a sales slump.

The top-level resignations, in a way, started with the exit of co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Ankit Bhati in 2019 and reached a crescendo with Chatterjee's departure. In the last couple of months, however, at least 500 employees---each earning over Rs 50 lakh/annum---have resigned.

Ola Group doesn't have a chief people officer, since N Balachandar quit, people aware of the matter told NDTV Profit. It doesn't have a company secretary either. The company's head of product strategy and service head have moved on. The head of sourcing is on his notice period while the vice president of production has been asked to go on garden leave.

Individuals aside, entire teams are getting laid off including those involved in engineering program management, product planning and customer quality assurance.