Ananth Narayanan

Ananth Narayanan (born 24 December 1976) has been the chief executive officer of Myntra and Jabong.com, fashion e-commerce platforms in India since October 1, 2015. He has been an additional independent director at Marico Limited since June 26, 2017. He served as a director in McKinsey's Chennai office.

Early life and education

Narayanan was born in 1976 in Tamil Nadu, India. His parents are Sankara Narayanan and Chandrika Sankara Narayanan. Ananth began his schooling in Chennai at Vidya Mandir school. He earned his bachelor's degree in Engineering from the University of Madras. He received his master's degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of Michigan.

Career

Narayanan worked with McKinsey & Company for more than 15 years, working in the United States, China, and India as a director before leaving the firm in 2015. He primarily led the product development practice in Asia and advised clients on strategy, business plans, operations, and organizational models. In 2015, Narayanan became Chief Executive Officer of Myntra, a fashion and lifestyle e-commerce company based in Bengaluru. Narayanan also took over as chief executive officer of Jabong. Flipkart-owned Myntra acquired fashion e-tailer Jabong for approximately $70 million, along with the chief executive officer of Myntra. [11] In 2016, Narayanan oversaw Myntra's acquisition of Jabong for $70 million, and Narayanan also became Chief Executive Officer of Jabong. [5] In 2017, Narayanan was appointed to the Board of Directors of consumer goods company Marico Ltd. [8] Recently, Narayanan resigned from his position as Chief Executive Officer of Myntra and Jabong. He resigned to focus on the next phase of his entrepreneurial career. Narayanan stepped down to pursue other opportunities. Narayanan joined Myntra in 2015 as its CEO, after a 15-year tenure at McKinsey. He joined Myntra after the Jabong acquisition, becoming CEO of the combined entity. ET reported that he may also consider returning to McKinsey to join its US practice. [1] Narayanan played a key role in establishing Myntra and Jabong as a strong player in the fashion e-commerce market and guiding the company towards sustainable growth. Over the past three and a half years, he and the management team built a strong foundation for the company, known for its innovative approach to business and development of a unique fashion and technology culture, creating a differentiated position for the business. [3]

Personal life

Narayanan is married to Sandhya Subraamanyam, who is a Director of Ehrlich Laboratory. Narayanan has three children. His father held a senior position at Hindustan Motors and Bosch. He is a wine enthusiast with an extensive collection. He owns over 800 wines at his home in Chicago. [9] Narayanan enjoys reading, hosting gatherings with wine, and playing tennis. He is associated with the Kalakshetra Foundation, an arts and cultural academy, and supports fine arts and girls' education. Narayanan highly recommends Daniel Kahneman's book, 'Thinking, Fast and Slow'. For vacations, Narayanan enjoys visiting Kodaikanal, where he spent summers as a child. He also visits a small village in Austria called Obergurgi. He begins his day with 15 minutes of meditation and 30 minutes of walking. He enjoys listening to 1980s rock music and anything by A.R. Rahman. [4]

Awards and achievements

Narayanan was featured as one of "India's Hottest 40 Under 40 Business Leaders" in 2014 by the Economic Times. [10] He is also a Fellow at the Aspen Global Leadership Network. He co-authored a book on Product Excellence: 'Driving success through true product excellence'. In 2017, Myntra CEO Narayanan unveiled his Mission Apollo to the top management. This mission was focused on the company's profitability. Within six months, Narayanan's commitment yielded positive results, as Myntra achieved 5 percent EBITDA, though net profit remains a future target. [2]

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