Investor and entrepreneur Ashish Kashyap, alongside Sayali Karanjkar, have taken up positions on the board of Lenskart. Concurrently, Sumer Juneja, a representative from SoftBank, has decided to depart from the Lenskart board.
Lenskart, the leading online eyewear retailer, has made several significant moves in its ongoing efforts to align with public market governance norms. At its annual general meeting on July 26, the company approved the appointment of two new independent directors: Ashish Kashyap and Sayali Karanjkar.
Ashish Kashyap, the founder of INDmoney and former CEO of Ibibo Group, brings over 25 years of experience across startups and global tech companies, including Google and Times Internet, to the Lenskart board. Kashyap's extensive background in the tech industry will undoubtedly prove valuable as Lenskart continues to innovate and grow.
Sayali Karanjkar, the co-founder of the digital lending platform PaySense, also joins the Lenskart board. Prior to PaySense, Karanjkar held leadership roles at ElasticRun and served on the boards of MobiKwik and CMS Info Systems. With a focus on fintech and SaaS startups, Karanjkar's expertise in these areas will be an asset to Lenskart.
In addition to Kashyap and Karanjkar, the Lenskart board includes Jayesh Merchant, Bijou Kurien, and Anant Gupta, in addition to the co-founders Peyush Bansal, Neha Bansal, and Amit Chaudhary. Merchant, Kurien, and Gupta bring a wealth of experience to the table, with Merchant being the former CFO of Asian Paints, Kurien being the former COO of Titan and ex-board member of L Catterton Asia, and Gupta being a partner at Kedaara Capital.
The new appointments come as Lenskart also introduces a new employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) 2025. The plan comprises 72.8 lakh stock options or approximately 0.43% of its fully diluted equity. Of the stock options in ESOP 2025, 21.84 lakh options are reserved for senior staff at general manager level and above. The options in ESOP 2025 will vest based on performance and tenure.
Lenskart, which is backed by marquee investors such as Temasek, SoftBank, Fidelity, ADIA, Alpha Wave Global, KKR, and TPG, was last valued at $6.1 billion following a mark-up by investor Fidelity in April. The company has also secured shareholders' approval to raise Rs 2,150 crore (approximately $250 million) through a fresh issue of shares as part of its upcoming initial public offering (IPO).
Lenskart operates more than 2,000 retail stores and has expanded internationally in recent years. With its new board appointments and employee stock ownership plan, the company is poised for continued growth and success.
In other news, Sumer Juneja has stepped down from the board of Lenskart. The company thanks Juneja for his contributions and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors. Both Kashyap and Karanjkar bring deep entrepreneurial and operational expertise, and their appointments to the Lenskart board are expected to further strengthen the company's leadership team.
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