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Zomato appointed its former executive Shalin Bhatt as leader of its dining-out division to center its efforts on this specific segment.
A Familiar Leader Returns to Zomato
Zomato witnessed previous growth under the leadership of Bhatt when he graduated from IIT Kharagpur and IIM Ahmedabad before leaving in 2021. Bhatt returned to Zomato in July 2024 to fill the vacancy that occurred after Sankalp Kathuria's departure from his position as business head for dining out during the previous month.
Bhatt has experience across various business sectors including his time at Matrix Partners India and his work at Moloco and his startup endeavor of SaaS ecommerce. He now holds the position of Zomato dining-out vertical leader as the third person to lead this group within two years since Kathuria and Aman Priyadarshi.
Zomato shifted its dining-out user base to District through the release of its newly launched all-inclusive platform designed for its entire going-out services. Zomato seeks to advance its business model by developing its ecosystem through ticketing and live events services.
Zomato increased its going-out segment development through important industry executive appointments during the last year. Zomato Live gained two critical personnel appointments when Zeenah Vilcassim became its CEO while Kunal Khambhati joined as COO of Zomato Live. The executive team consisting of Rahul Ganjoo and Pradyot Ghate has resumed leadership roles to help current users migrate from Insider TicketNew and Paytm platforms toward the District.
The company demonstrates its significant investment in this sector through its Rs 2,048 crore acquisition of Paytm’s events and ticketing business from the previous year. Zomato has acquired this business to create a stronger foothold in live entertainment and ticketing elements that align with its dining-out services.
District’s Growth and Challenges
According to recent earnings figures, the District application from Zomato surpassed the milestone of 6.5 million downloads. The going-out segment achieved an adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs 17 crore because the District received massive technology and marketing funding. Zomato continues to promise expansion of its vertical while establishing this segment as a key element for future growth according to its long-term strategy.
Bhatt now leads Zomato's dining-out division which aims to implement technology-based growth strategies to reshape users' restaurant discovery and event engagement processes.
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