Rakesh Kumar, currently serving as OYO's deputy chief financial officer, has been promoted to the position of chief financial officer (CFO). He will be the CFO effective Jan 1, 2024. 

Global travel technology company added in its release that in this role, Rakesh is responsible for overseeing critical financial functions such as business finance across all markets, treasury, controllership, shared services, financial and investor reporting, taxation, and financial planning and analysis. 

In his last six years at OYO, Rakesh has played a pivotal role in the company's financial stability during the COVID-19 pandemic. His leadership facilitated successful equity and debt raises and strategic acquisitions. In his new role as the CFO, he will continue driving financial strategy and operational efficiency. Abhishek Gupta, the current CFO, is continuing with OYO in an advisory and mentorship capacity, the statement added. 

OYO has also announced that Ankit Tandon, global chief business officer, and CEO of SEAME will also head Investor Relations including M&A’s as well as FP&A (Financial planning and analysis) function.  

Expressing his commitment, Rakesh Kumar stated, “I am honored by the opportunity to step into the role of the Chief Financial Officer. My journey with OYO has been marked by unique opportunities as well as interesting challenges. I appreciate the trust placed in me to navigate these complexities. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to management and especially my mentor Abhishek Gupta for his unwavering support and for believing in my abilities. Throughout the years, I've been encouraged to make strategic decisions on my own and pioneer creative solutions to our day-to-day challenges. I am fully committed to leveraging this autonomy to strengthen our financial position and drive sustained success for OYO." 

Abhishek Gupta expressed confidence and said, “Rakesh's internal promotion reflects the quality and depth of talent at OYO. His journey at OYO has been exceptional and I'm confident in his ability to lead the Finance function at OYO. I will continue to be involved with OYO in an advisory capacity.” 

Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of OYO, added, “OYO's path to profitability has been a journey marked by resilience and smart financial choices. Abhishek and his vision and guidance have been instrumental in this journey. We have faced and overcome unique challenges, consistently adapting to the dynamic landscape of the hospitality and tech industry. Rakesh’s elevation to the role of CFO is a crucial milestone in our pursuit of financial stability. His leadership comes at a time when we continue to implement measures to enhance profitability and fortify our financial foundation. I wish him all the success in this new role.” 

This announcement comes on the heels of OYO's successful buyback of a portion of its Term Loan B (TLB), totaling Rs 1620 crore. Global credit rating agencies Fitch & Moody’s termed OYO’s move to repurchase its outstanding debt as positive.

Fitch wrote that this action will improve OYO’s EBITDA and that they may take positive rating action. Moody’s doubled its Adj EBITDA estimate for FY2024 from $50 million (projected in May 2023) to $90- $100 million. 

Before he joined OYO, Rakesh worked at Ernst and Young (EY). At EY, he was involved in various services such as audits, and tax audits, ensuring compliance with international financial reporting standards (IFRS), providing advice for initial public offerings (IPOs), and setting up finance functions.