Deepinder Goyal Resigns as Zomato CEO: Why the Founder Stepped Down and What’s Next for the Company

Weeks after worker strikes, Depinder Goyal, the founder of Zomato, has stepped down as the CEO of Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit. This comes as quite a shocker, as Depinder’s growing popularity among youth due to his appearances on Shark Tank India has made him an ambassador for the company.

Deepinder has Resigned

Just 21 hours ago, through his official Instagram, Deepinder shared a 5-page-long post titled “Eternal- An important Update”. The former CEO shared his latest interest in new ideas that involve significantly high risk due to their experimental nature. He does not want to pursue such ideas within Eternal, which in 2021 listed itself as a public company.

He believes these ideas do not align well with Eternal’s strategic scope, and he wants Eternal to be focused and disciplined on what benefits the company as a whole while exploring new ideas relevant to what the company stands for, not Deepinder as the founder.

What caught users' attention, however, was that this decision might not have been the sole decision of the former CEO. 
In his post, Deepinder very well mentions that he believes he can manage eternal alongside exploring new ideas, but, due to the expectation and legal demands of a public company’s CEO in India, he has decided to step down.

What’s next for Deepinder

The 42-year-old former CEO has seen stability in his private life. Getting married to his wife, Grecia Munoz, in 2024 and having a stable net worth of 170 crores in 2026, there is not much to feel sad about.

Deepinder will still actively be a part of Eternal, just not as the CEO. He will serve on the board of directors as Vice Chairman. The founder has promised to continue his involvement in a long-term strategy, culture, leadership development, ethics, and governance of eternal without fail.

In a shocking twist, he has also reverted all his unvested ESPOs and returned to the ESPOs pool. What does this mean?

In simple terms, a company usually has a set of ESPOs (Employee Stock Option Plans) that are company-granted rights to buy company shares at a fixed price after a certain vesting period (for instance, over 4-5 years)

Deepinder also received ESPOs as the acting CEO of the eternal but now, after his resignation. The founder has promised to return the unvested ESPOs (the ones he hasn’t earned) to the ESPOs pool.

This means he will not keep or benefit from those unearned options, and the shares will be returned to the company. Now the company can re-allocate them to other employees or future executives.

This reinstates the values of eternal as a public company. No special treatment is given to the founder, with strong corporate governance and alignment with shareholder and employee interests.

This whole step-down is seen as a clean leadership transition without hidden compensation.

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What’s next for Eternal?

Albinder Dhindsa will now be the new CEO of the Eternal Group. The new CEO has been actively working and building the well-loved platform Blinkit. He is credited with acquiring Blinkit and with building the company's team culture and operating rhythm.

Blinkit has remained Eternal’s most significant growth opportunity and will be Albinder’s top priority, without any disruptions.

After the announcement, Eternal's share price rose by more than 7% in early trading on Thursday, following the release of the company's Q3 results. Shares climbed as much as 7.33%, reaching ₹304.20 each on the BSE. Eternal reported stronger-than-anticipated Q3 results and delivered several surprises, with their divisions, Blinkit and Hyperpure, achieving adjusted EBITDA breakeven ahead of expectations, as noted by Nuvama Institutional Equities.

The Resignation has received positive reviews. Celebrating Deepinder’s long run and the progressive changes as a public company. Many deem Deepinder’s latest comments regarding the strike upheld on New Year's Eve to be the reason for the step back. Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghav Chadha has raised multiple issues regarding quick commerce in the parliament, leading to backlash. It's safe to say the future of Eternal as a company lies in a decentralised system of power that the company has now moved towards.

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