New Delhi (Rajeev Sharma): Deepinder Goyal has stepped down as Group Chief Executive Officer of Eternal Ltd. with immediate effect, triggering a major leadership transition at the company he founded 18 years ago. Subject to shareholder approval, Goyal will now serve as Vice Chairman, while Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa has been appointed as the new Group CEO.
In a letter to shareholders, Goyal said the decision was driven by his growing inclination to pursue high-risk and experimental ideas that fall outside the strategic and risk framework of a listed company. He said Eternal, as a public entity, requires sustained focus and operational discipline, while the ideas he now wishes to explore are better pursued independently.
Goyal clarified that had these ideas aligned with Eternal’s business direction, he would have developed them within the company. However, he noted that the regulatory and fiduciary expectations attached to the role of a public company CEO demand singular attention, making the leadership transition necessary.
Despite stepping away from daily operations, Goyal emphasised that his association with Eternal remains deeply rooted. He said he would continue to contribute to the company’s long-term strategy, organisational culture, leadership development, and governance, describing Eternal as his life’s work and reaffirming his long-term commitment to its vision.
With the change, operational control will shift to Albinder Dhindsa, widely known as Albi. As Group CEO, Dhindsa will be responsible for day-to-day execution, operating priorities, and key business decisions across the group. Goyal expressed strong confidence in Dhindsa’s leadership, highlighting his role in transforming Blinkit from an acquisition into a breakeven business. He credited Dhindsa with building Blinkit’s team, culture, supply chain, and operating rhythm, describing him as a battle-hardened founder with exceptional execution skills.
Blinkit will continue to be Eternal’s largest growth engine and will remain Dhindsa’s top priority. Goyal said the company’s decentralised structure, under which individual businesses operate with their own CEOs and full ownership, will continue unchanged.
Addressing alignment and incentives, Goyal said his financial future remains closely tied to Eternal’s long-term success. As part of the transition, all his unvested employee stock options will revert to the ESOP pool, a move he said would strengthen wealth-creation opportunities for future leaders while avoiding additional dilution for shareholders.
Reflecting on the company’s journey, Goyal recalled that Eternal began as a simple menu-scanning idea and grew into a platform serving millions of customers while supporting hundreds of thousands of livelihoods. He said the leadership change would strengthen the company’s institutional foundation rather than disrupt its momentum.
Reiterating his long-term ambitions, Goyal said his goals of making Eternal India’s most valuable company, serving a billion customers, and creating large-scale positive social impact remain unchanged. He described the move as a change in title rather than a change in commitment and thanked shareholders for their continued trust.
