Flipkart has hired Samsung’s former director and general counsel South and West Asia, Rajinder Sharma, as its group general counsel, while the company has been busy restructuring its operations with its recent buy-back of its logistics operations from WS Retail Services Pvt Ltd as reported by Mint on Tuesday (22 September).
Sharma, who joined on 1 September, will be responsible for heading up the legal function and regulatory function of the group company, taking over from its former GC and legal head Srivals Kumar.
Sharma declined to comment when contacted. We have reached out to Kumar and Samsung for comment.
A Flipkart spokesperson commented:
Rajinder Sharma has joined us as Flipkart’s General Counsel. Rajinder will be responsible for handling legal compliances and regulatory issues.This comprises of corporate secretarial practices, contract management, litigation management, compliance management and protection of intellectual property rights of all the group companies.
Sharma was previously director and general counsel for the South and West Asia regional headquarters of Samsung, in Gurgaon, after three years at EI DuPont India Pvt Ltd as its director and general counsel South Asia between August 2011 and August 2014.
Between 2006 and 2011 he was also group general counsel at the Reliance ADAG Group, Emaar MGF India and the JSW Group, and between and November 2006 he had worked in the legal departments of Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and The Coca-Cola Company.
Flipkart bought back its logistics business from WS Retail Services, the largest seller on its platform, and a company with which it has close links, in an effort to simplify its structure ahead of a possible share sale a few years later, /Mint /reported on 22 September.
Flipkart and four other e-commerce firms faced questions from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) earlier this year because of allegations of unfair business practices filed by the Confederation of All India Traders. While CCI rejected the allegations, analysts expect the regulator to keep a close eye on online retailers.
Since late 2012, the Enforcement Directorate has been investigating Flipkart for alleged violations of foreign direct investment (FDI) rules. The status of the probe is unclear.
Flipkart, which has raised more than $3 billion in funds from investors, including Tiger Global Management, Qatar Investment Authority and Accel Partners, is now valued at $15 billion and is targeting gross sales of more than $10 billion this year. Gross sales exclude discounts and returns.
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