EdTech company Leverage.bix, which runs brands LeverageEdu, Fly Finance and Fly Homes, has appointed former Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) CMO Sushant Kumar as its Chief Marketing Officer.

“Thrilled to have Sushant onboard. I have enjoyed the richness of his granularity, which is very much ‘the Leverage DNA and that’s why everyone in the leadership is excited to team up with him! Over the last few years, Sushant has proved his mettle while building in the most-watched spaces,” said Akshay Chaturvedi, Founder & CEO of Leverage.Biz.

Sushant Kumar had quit Aakash amid the ongoing turmoil, reported businessline. Kumar served as the lead for marketing for nearly four years. He served as the head of marketing for driving business growth for online and hybrid courses in test preparation and K12 segment’s user experience.

This comes at a time when Think and Learn, the parent company of Byju’s and AESL have withdrawn the merger petition.

Sushant has joined Leverage.biz C-suite after Ex-Amex and Apple’s Arjun Mehta’s appointment as CFO in January this year.

“I am excited to join the Leverage rocketship. I have been a big fan of Leverage as a business and a brand, having seen it as an outsider. I am excited to join Akshay and team, as we go along on this journey to cement Leverage’s position in the industry as a student-first brand loved by millions across the globe”, said Sushant.

Aakash saga

Ranjan Pai, Chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group, is the single largest shareholder in Byju’s-owned Aakash Institute, with a 39 per cent stake. This happened after the Aakash board approved the conversion of the $300 million invested by Pai in 2023 into equity.

In November 2022, he had invested close to $200 million in Aakash Institute to help Byju’s clear its debt and interest to Davidson Kempner. Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO, Byju’s, had also borrowed capital from the investor to run daily operations at Think & Learn by pledging his personal stake in AESL.

Currently, Pai holds 39 per cent stake, while Think and Learn holds 26 per cent, Raveendran has 17 per cent stake and the Chaudhry family and Blackstone hold 10 and 8 per cent respectively.

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