Flipkart’s Amitesh Jha appointed as the new CEO for Swiggy Instamart

Swiggy has announced that Amitesh Jha will become the new CEO of its quick commerce business, Instamart. 

Phani Kishan, the current CEO of Instamart and a Swiggy co-founder, will take on a new, broader role managing the company’s central growth unit. He will now work closely with and report to Swiggy Group CEO Sriharsha Majety.

Amitesh Jha brings over 20 years of experience in operations, strategy, and product development from leading Indian companies. Before joining Swiggy Instamart, he was with Flipkart, where he played a major role in making e-commerce popular in India.

This appointment is the second major leadership change at Swiggy Instamart this month. Earlier, Sairam Krishnamurthy was named Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

The timing of Jha's appointment is notable because there are rumors that Amazon is in discussions to acquire Swiggy’s Instamart. Amazon is also planning to enter the quick commerce market in India soon.

As of July, Instamart holds the second position in the quick commerce market with a 20-25% share. Zomato’s Blinkit leads with a 40-45% share, while Zepto and BigBasket have 15-20% and 10-15% shares, respectively.

Swiggy is also preparing to file for an IPO with SEBI in early September. The company, recently valued at $14.74 billion by its U.S. investor Baron Capital, reported revenues of Rs 5,476 crore and a loss of Rs 1,600 crore in the first three quarters of FY24.