Though Binny Bansal has resigned as the group chief executive officer of Flipkart, many market observers are sceptic over the handling of the issue by Walmart, the parent company of Flipkart. Some experts with whom THE WEEK spoke to opined that Walmart is trying to hush up the case by not disclosing the alleged 'serious personal misconduct' committed by Bansal. The way Walmart handled the issue has also raised eyebrows among many observers. Some experts stressed on the fact that it was really strange that a company of the stature of Walmart conducted an internal inquiry and did not delegate it to an external audit or a governance firm.
However, Kris Lakshmikanth, the CEO and founder of the Bengaluru-based executive search firm, Head Hunters India, vouches that it was sexual misconduct that paved the way for Bansal's resignation.
Lakshmikanth told THE WEEK that he knew about the matter from a few internal team members at Flipkart. “It was sexual misconduct that paved the way for his resignation as I came to know about the inquiry from some sources at Flipkart. It was going on for some time and Walmart was conducting an inquiry. The sexual misconduct was proved, though Walmart has not declared anything about it in public. I am sure that it was MeToo and sexual misconduct that was the reason for Bansal's ouster. Walmart wanted to maintain silence for some time as the acquisition process was going on. Post this nothing will happen and everything has been taken care of. Bansal has exited the company and the image of the company will remain intact,” said Lakshmikanth.
Another expert Alok Shende of Mumbai-based Ascentius Consulting, feels that the fact that no external organisation or an audit firm has been involved in the inquiry proves that Walmart wants to hide certain things. “No one clearly knows what kind of misconduct happened and when it happened. Whether it was financial or a sexual misconduct, nothing has been made public. Walmart is a global firm that is known for its corporate governance but in this case it has hushed up the matter and does not want to declare anything further with regard to the misconduct. This is really unexpected from a global firm like Walmart,” Shende told THE WEEK.
Experts such as Murthy B.S., the CEO of Bengaluru-based firm LeadershipCapital, said that there are no known facts about the inquiry and the misconduct. “It is unlikely that there were financial irregularities as a company like Walmart would conduct due diligence when it would come to financial matters. There is something more to that but strangely no facts have come out. The fact that the misconduct was proven shows that the misconduct may have been serious and instead of sacking him they have given him an option to resign. For Walmart, the business is as such set and this case is unlikely to dent the image of the firm as everything otherwise is in process,” remarked Murthy.
Most of the market observers are of the opinion that such incidents will not have any effect on the image of Flipkart. Abhilash Thirupathy, the co-founder of the startup, Goldfarm, told THE WEEK: “What the Bansals have achieved will remain a yardstick for all other startups to try and match.”
Similarly, Naresh Malhotra, the CEO and founder of the startup Modern Family Doctor, said that on a personal front no one is immune to the “anger wave sweeping the world”. “This incident will not affect the image of startups at all as it has nothing to do with the corporate body and it is only about the individual,” Malhotra told THE WEEK.
