upGrad has announced the appointment of C.P. Gurnani to its Board of Directors, effective from January 2024.  

Gurnani will serve as an independent non-executive director while the skilling giant continues to ramp up its domestic and global operations. 

He retired from his post last month and served on the Board of Mahindra & Mahindra for over three decades. Before Tech Mahindra, Gurnani held leadership roles at HCL Perot JV as the founder and CEO.  

Commenting on the development, C.P. Gurnani said, “As an Independent Director, I will prioritise the global expansion of the company, leveraging its strong credentials. My focus is to work with the leadership teams to transform upGrad into a highly export-oriented product, tapping into opportunities in B2B and B2C markets. It's interesting to observe how upGrad is reversing the pyramid, empowering millions, and addressing the rising demand for upskilling, particularly in times of AI. It is creating a talent pipeline for the world, and I am committed to guiding them on building more smart content and individualised learning trajectories for learners from diverse backgrounds and geographies. I intend to work with the Board and mentor the management to set audacious goals that align with positioning upGrad as the global smart content factory."  

“We have laid our business roadmap for coming years and are set to embark on a journey of driving sustainability. There’s a very strong demand coming out of global economies for constant learning and the pedagogy we have built is witnessing wider acceptance and getting deep-rooted with every passing year. Learning, skilling, and workforce development continue to enjoy a reputation of being one of the very important & transformative sectors of the 21st and 22nd centuries. Aware of our sound growth, we are actively deploying a well-structured governance model - guided by leaders who are aligned to support upGrad’s development over short-term gains,” said Ronnie Screwvala, co-founder and chairperson at upGrad. 

“At upGrad we have laid a strong and long-term goal of being a Lifelong Learning partner as we power career success for the global workforce. I’m confident that CP’s profound leadership and ability to pre-empt market trends would further enhance our framework and underpin the integrity and efficiency of our business model. CP comes with a very strong business intellect and has a proven record of scaling businesses across both B2B and B2C segments,” he added. 

Gurnani becomes the second non-executive director after the India HQ skilling giant announced the appointment of Chegg’s Dan Rosensweig in March last year.