Who Is Albinder Dhindsa, New CEO of Eternal? Why Deepinder Goyal Resigned ?

Eternal Limited, formerly Zomato, has announced a major leadership change. Deepinder Goyal has stepped away from the Group CEO role and Albinder Singh Dhindsa has taken over as the new Group CEO.

This is not a sudden exit or a crisis-driven move. Deepinder has clearly explained why this change is happening and why Albinder is the right person to lead Eternal at this stage.

Why Deepinder Goyal Stepped Down as CEO

In his letter to shareholders, Deepinder Goyal explained that he wants to spend time exploring new, high-risk ideas that do not fit inside a listed public company like Eternal.

He believes Eternal needs focus and discipline as a public company, while the ideas he wants to explore involve experimentation and higher risk. As per him, a public company CEO in India is expected to give singular focus to the company, both legally and otherwise.

Stepping away as CEO allows Eternal to stay sharply focused, while giving him the freedom to explore ideas outside the company’s scope. Importantly, he has made it clear that this is not an exit.

He will remain Vice Chairman, continue working on long-term strategy, culture, leadership development, and governance. He also said Eternal remains his life’s work.

Who Is Albinder Singh Dhindsa?

Albinder Singh Dhindsa, often called Albi internally, is best known as the founder and CEO of Blinkit.

He is an IIT Delhi graduate and started Grofers in 2013, which later became Blinkit. Under his leadership, Blinkit moved from a standard grocery delivery model to ultra-fast quick commerce, promising deliveries in minutes.

This shift changed how urban India shops for daily needs and made Blinkit one of the strongest players in India’s quick commerce space.

Albinder’s Early Entrepreneurial Journey

Before Blinkit became a household name, Albinder’s journey was rooted in solving a very simple problem. Urban consumers wanted convenience, reliability, and speed in buying daily essentials.

Grofers started as a local delivery platform focused on groceries and household items. Over time, Albinder realised that delivery speed was not just a feature, but the core product itself. This insight led to the transformation of Grofers into Blinkit.

The rebranding was not cosmetic. It came with a complete reset of operations, store formats, supply chains, and delivery timelines. Blinkit’s promise of deliveries in minutes required dense warehousing, better forecasting, and tight execution. Albinder led this shift hands-on.

Blinkit’s Role Inside Eternal

Blinkit is no longer just one of Eternal’s many businesses. It is the group’s fastest-growing vertical and one of its most capital-intensive bets.

Under Albinder’s leadership, Blinkit moved from heavy losses to breakeven. This transition involved tough decisions around store density, category mix, pricing discipline, and operational efficiency.

This experience is highly relevant for Eternal today, as the group balances growth with profitability across food delivery, quick commerce, and going-out businesses.

Why Albinder Was Chosen as CEO

Deepinder Goyal has been very direct about why Albinder is taking over.

Blinkit’s journey from acquisition to breakeven happened under Albinder’s leadership. He built the team, the operating culture, the supply chain, and the execution rhythm.

Deepinder described Albinder as a battle-hardened founder whose ability to execute is stronger than his own. That is a strong statement coming from the founder of the group.

Quick commerce is currently Eternal’s largest growth opportunity, and Blinkit sits at the centre of that opportunity. Putting Albinder in charge of the entire group aligns leadership with where the company’s future growth is coming from.

What Kind of Leader Is Albinder?

Albinder is widely seen as an execution-focused leader. His strengths lie in operations, logistics, and building systems that work at scale.

He is known for being deeply involved in details, especially in supply chain design and store-level performance. At the same time, he has shown the ability to take long-term bets, such as investing heavily in infrastructure before demand fully materialised.

This mix of operational discipline and founder-style risk-taking is rare, and it is one of the reasons Eternal sees him as the right person to lead the group at this stage.

What Changes Under Albinder’s Leadership

The biggest change is that the centre of operating decisions moves to Albinder. As Group CEO, he will own day-to-day execution, operating priorities, and business decisions across Eternal.

However, Eternal’s decentralized structure remains the same. Each business continues to have its own CEO with full ownership. This means Albinder will focus on execution at the group level while allowing business leaders to operate independently. Blinkit will remain his top priority, reflecting its importance to Eternal’s growth story.

What Does Not Change

Deepinder Goyal remains deeply involved. He will continue working on long-term strategy, company culture, leadership development, ethics, and governance. He will also work closely with Albinder and Akshant, just as before.

His financial interests remain tied to Eternal. In fact, he has chosen to return all his unvested ESOPs to the ESOP pool. This strengthens employee incentives and avoids additional dilution for shareholders.

What This Leadership Change Signals to Investors

For investors, this transition sends a signal of continuity rather than disruption. There is no change in business strategy, growth plans, or capital allocation priorities. Instead, Eternal is sharpening its leadership structure by separating exploration from execution.

With Albinder handling execution and Deepinder focusing on long-term thinking, Eternal aims to reduce key-person risk while strengthening institutional leadership.

The Bigger Picture

Deepinder has clearly said this is a change in title, not in commitment. He wants Eternal to become India’s most valuable company, serve a billion customers, create livelihoods for millions, and deliver positive impact at scale. None of that ambition has changed.

With Albinder Singh Dhindsa as CEO and Deepinder Goyal as Vice Chairman, Eternal is positioning itself for its next phase of growth with sharper execution and long-term stability.

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