Oyo Strengthens Top Leadership With Five Elevations

Global travel-tech company Oyo has made five additions to its leadership team. The appointments are in line with Oyo's commitment to innovation and operational excellence as it continues to expand its global footprint with hotels and homes across different price points, said the company.

Sonal Sinha was appointed as Chief Operating Officer – International and Rachit Srivastava took over as Chief Operating Officer of Oyo Vacation Homes (OVH) in Europe. Shashank Jain has been elevated to Head of Technology and Online Revenue, while Pankhuri Sakhuja will head Traum-Ferienwohnungen, Oyo’s listings business in Germany – besides the flex-space business Innov8 – with Ashish Bajpai becoming Head of Revenue and Global OTA.

Oyo Founder & Group Chief Executive Officer Ritesh Agarwal said: “As we pursue our growth objectives, agility and decisive action remain at the core of our strategy. Our leaders are continuously adapting and expanding their roles to stay ahead of evolving market dynamics and drive our business forward. I congratulate Sonal, Rachit, Shashank, Pankhuri and Ashish on their new roles. Having been with Oyo for a significant period, they understand Oyo and its values and have been critical to our success.”

In his new role, Sonal Sinha will be responsible for overseeing Oyo’s international business operations, and revenue and spearheading strategic initiatives across the United States. As the business head for the region, he will play a pivotal role in steering the company’s growth and expanding its footprint across the country. 

Rachit Srivastava was earlier serving as the Head of the  Vacation Rentals Management Company ( VRMC) business for OVH, where he played a crucial role in ensuring strong earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) performance and supply growth. In his new role, Rachit will continue to leverage his expertise to deliver growth and customer satisfaction across Oyo’s European vacation home portfolio.

Shashank Jain, who led product development for customer acquisition and retention on Oyo’s channels, will also oversee direct revenue and marketing for all hotels and homes. With a continued focus on GenAI, Shashank will leverage technology to improve customer service and growth across markets.

Pankhuri Sakhuja, who has been managing the Oyo workspaces vertical and hotels acquisition from the central office for some of Oyo’s overseas markets, will now also take on the role of business head for OYO’s Germany-based vacation home listings business TraumFerienwohnungen, besides being formally appointed as the head of the workspaces business.

Ashish Bajpai will lend his expertise in driving Oyo’s revenue growth through both direct and indirect channels and working to widen the visibility and distribution of the group’s hotels and homes around the globe.

Ayush Mathur, President – Oyo Europe, will be moving on to build his own startup. Recently in charge of Oyo’s holiday parks business in Europe, Ayush joined Oyo in 2014 and held various positions in the company, including Chief Supply Officer. Ayush’s responsibilities will be taken up by Rachit.

The company said that it has emerged as a significant contributor to the country's burgeoning startup ecosystem, with more than 60 former employees successfully establishing their startups following stints at the company.