Pocket FM audio entertainment platform has lost another high-profile executive in a key industry administrative change. The CEO of the company, Mayank Sancheti, who was serving as the company’s Senior Vice President, has officially resigned from his executive duties. Sources close to Sancheti’s development told ET that he has already submitted his official resignation notice and is currently serving the required notice of six months. 

Series of transitions and a high-profile resignation

The move comes as the latest shuffle in the startup’s top tier of executives. Sancheti has worked with the platform for several years and thus played a central role in its operational path. He has also received ample credit for his foundational contribution to the company’s main products, monetization, and growth efforts during his long tenure. 

Sancheti’s wide range of corporate strategy and product development experience with global mobility and ride-sharing giants Grab and Uber precedes his current career trajectory with Pocket FM. Pocket FM did not respond to direct questions about his departure, and Mayank Sancheti, their CEO, refused to comment on the issue on behalf of the company.

The Senior Vice President’s exit is not an isolated incident, as a series of leadership changes have recently hit the audio startup. This move follows Pocket FM Chief Financial Officer Anurag Sharma announcing his departure earlier this week. Like Sancheti, Sharma is bound to exit the firm after serving out his official notice period, after which he will turn to opportunities outside the firm as an entrepreneur. 

The company is said to be rushing to complete its next finance leadership hire, given the void Sharma is set to leave in a matter of months. Abhilash Padival, currently Director of India Investment Banking of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is reportedly set to take over as Pocket FM’s new Chief Financial Officer.

These changes happen in quick succession at the absolute highest levels of leadership amidst a larger organizational realignment process. The changes in high-level staffing mirror a period when Pocket FM is in full swing to focus on improving the company’s profitability and efficiency on a day-to-day basis. The company recently underwent a significant restructuring process that included the termination of over 100 employees. 

Financial performance and market evolution

Pocket FM still remains a highly visible player on the financial front in the digital media scene, despite the recent reshuffling of key managers and internal restructuring. The company was created in 2018 by the entrepreneurial band of Rohan Nayak, Nishanth KS and Prateek Dixit. 

Since it began operation, the founders have managed to turn the platform from a local service to a large-scale multilingual system of audio entertainment. To that end, the company has expanded aggressively beyond the boundaries of its country of origin, solidifying an increasingly global footprint with active business in key Western markets in both the United States and Europe.

The startup has recently shared very strong operating metrics on the financial performance front. Pocket FM has successfully crossed an impressive annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $400 million, they claimed. 

The media giant said it also broke even in terms of revenue and became free cash flow positive. The achievement of this financial milestone reflects the challenges that the company faces in management transition and the implementation of workforce corrections, while continuing to maintain profitable cash generation from its global consumer franchise.

Conclusion

The exit of Senior Vice President Mayank Sancheti underscores the period of struggle faced by Pocket FM as it struggled to balance the changing of the guard at high-ranking positions with business optimization measures. The platform is conscious of workforce reduction, major leadership churn, and hiring top-notch talent such as Abhilash Padival from within India’s largest institutional services providers.

The company will evaluate its ability to stay in the pocket as it continues to execute the same level of commercial success through the latest structural upgrades in these markets, which will continue its progression along profitable growth trajectories within the United States, Europe, and India.