Reshuffle At Cult.fit: Naresh Krishnaswamy Elevated As CEO, Mukesh Bansal Becomes Chairman

In a major reshuffle at Cult.fit, cofounder and former CEO Mukesh Bansal has been appointed as the new executive chairman of the fitness unicorn. Meanwhile, head of fitness services Naresh Krishnaswamy has been elevated as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. 

A spokesperson of the startup confirmed the development with Inc42 without offering any comment. 

As per Economic Times, Krishnaswamy was made the CEO internally in October last year but the move was not formally announced. 

“It’s been in the works for some time and (the elevation of Krishnaswamy) was announced internally a few months back. Mukesh gets involved for broad strategic matters and attends board meetings,” a person aware of the development told the publication.

The new CEO is said to have been running the show and managing all key operations at the fitness company since Bansal moved to Tata Digital as its president in mid-2021.

Bansal left the digital arm of the Tata Group early last year and has since been focussing on his new venture in the fashion space with Zomato cofounder Mohit Gupta. The duo have been in talks with several investors to raise capital for the yet-to-be-launched startup. However, Bansal is still involved with Cult.fit on strategic matters.

Founded in 2016 by Myntra cofounder Bansal and Ankit Nagori, Cult.fit offers a range of fitness services, including workouts at Cult.fit’s physical centres and other allied services at its partner gyms and fitness centres across the country. 

The startup has raised more than $670 Mn in funding till date and is backed by the likes of Zomato, Temasek, and Kalaari Capital.

Notably, the reshuffle comes just two months after the fitness unicorn raised INR 84.5 Cr in its Series F funding round led by existing backer Valecha Investments. The round also saw participation from Extreme Brands, L&K Wellness Services, among others.

Krishnaswamy’s tenure at the helm of the startup so far has seen Cult.fit undertake a major restructuring exercise to curb losses and streamline operations. As part of this, the startup fired nearly 120 employees earlier this year. The mass layoff exercise impacted employees across its sub-brands such as Sugar.fit, Carefit, and Cult.fit.

Cult.fit’s operating revenue reportedly more than tripled to INR 694 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 216 Cr in FY22. Meanwhile, the unicorn narrowed its loss nearly 20% year-on-year to INR 551 Cr in the year ended March 2023. 

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