Who is Akhilendra Kumar? Meet new CEO of Unacademy as Gaurav Munjal to become Executive Chairman - Profile of leaders
Unacademy co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal is moving to the position of Executive Chairman, with Akhilendra Kumar set to take over as the edtech company's new chief executive officer.
Announcing the leadership change in a social media post, Munjal said he would continue to remain closely involved in the company's day-to-day operations and work alongside Kumar. He also said he would help with the upGrad IPO.
"Some personal news: I'm moving from CEO to Executive Chairman of Unacademy, and Akhilendra Kumar will take over as CEO. To be clear, I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay fully involved in operations every day, work alongside Akhilendra and help with the upGrad IPO," Munjal wrote.
Praising his successor, Munjal described Kumar as "one of the sharpest operators" he knew and said he was proud to have him lead the company into its next chapter.
"The best is still ahead," he added.
Responding to Munjal's announcement, Kumar thanked the Unacademy co-founder for placing his trust in him.
"Thank You, Gaurav Munjal, for the trust. Really grateful," Kumar wrote.
He also acknowledged the contribution of the company's employees and educators, saying Unacademy's growth had been driven by their efforts and commitment to learners.
"Everything Unacademy has built is because of our Employees and Educators, who show up for learners every day," he said.
Outlining his priorities as the incoming CEO, Kumar said the company's focus would remain on delivering outcomes for learners and building a sustainable business.
"Our focus stays the same: Outcomes for Learners, and a business built to last," he added.
Akhilendra Kumar has been associated with Unacademy for nearly five years, having joined the company in January 2022. Before his elevation as CEO, he served as its Chief Business Officer, a position he held from October 2025, according to his professional profile.
He previously served in the company as Vice President – Business between March 2024 and October 2025 and as Associate Vice President – Business from January 2022 to March 2024.
Before joining Unacademy, Kumar worked at hospitality technology company OYO for around three years and eight months. His roles included AVP – Supply Network, Director – Supply Excellence and Business Head – Karnataka.
At OYO, he handled network management, partner experience, business margins and supply operations across multiple markets. His work included improving partner retention, developing technology-led solutions for partner management and streamlining business operations.
As AVP – Supply Network, he was responsible for network management, partner support, partner experience and margins across seven countries in the SEAME region.
During his tenure, he said he helped reduce partner escalations and support tickets by more than 60% over four months through self-service solutions. He also reported improving partner Net Promoter Score (NPS) from -17 in the second quarter of 2020 to +40 in the first quarter of 2021.
Earlier, as Business Head – Karnataka, Kumar led a team of more than 80 business managers overseeing around 17,000 franchised rooms in Bengaluru. He also contributed to increasing the company's commission take rate for properties in the city from 16% to 31%.
Kumar holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB), where he studied between 2017 and 2018, with a focus on operations and strategy.
Before that, he completed a bachelor's degree in Chemical and Polymer Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, between 2008 and 2012.
Gaurav Munjal is the co-founder of Unacademy, one of India's prominent edtech companies. He has led the company as CEO since October 2015.
An engineering graduate from NMIMS University, Mumbai, Munjal holds a BTech degree in Computer Engineering, which he completed in 2012.
Before establishing Unacademy as a business, Munjal worked as a software developer at Directi between June 2012 and June 2013. His work involved product development and machine learning algorithms.
He also founded FlatChat, a real estate platform aimed at college students and bachelors. The company was acquired by CommonFloor.com in April 2014.
Munjal's association with Unacademy goes back to December 2010, when he started the education platform as a YouTube channel offering free educational videos to students.
He subsequently co-founded Unacademy as a company in October 2015 and led its growth in India's online education market.
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