PepsiCo's Vishal Kaul joins Ola as COO

Prior to this, he was general manager of PepsiCo Foods for Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.

Mobile transportation app, Ola has appointed Vishal Kaul as chief operating officer. Kaul is a PepsiCo veteran, who has been with the company since the start of his career in 1999. He has held key leadership positions across operations, sales and marketing in his career spanning 18 years with the company. His was most recently the general manager of PepsiCo Foods for Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.

As COO, Kaul will head Ola's operations and strengthen its market leadership, while expanding the reach and widening the base of Ola's customers and driver-partner fraternity in line with its mission to build mobility for a billion Indians. Ola's operations are currently spread across 100 plus cities.

Pranay Jivrajka, Ola's first employee who has been focusing on leading key strategic initiatives in recent months, has been appointed as founding partner and will continue to work closely with Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO and co-founder, Ola.

Commenting on Kaul's appointment, Aggarwal says, "Vishal's energy is palpable and I have really enjoyed my interactions with him since we began interacting a few months ago. He is a passionate and experienced business leader with a demonstrated ability to drive business towards growth and profitability. His intuitive understanding of consumer businesses, ecosystem management experience and market understanding is invaluable."

"I am delighted to join Ola and be part of solving the mobility needs for a billion Indians. Ola has redefined the mobility experience in every way for Indians in all walks of life. Bhavish, Ankit, Pranay and the entire team at Ola have built something that has immense impact on our country and what excites me even more, is the immense opportunity to build from here and create lasting national value. Bhavish's inspiring vision, boldness in thinking and agility in execution, drew me to Ola. My family and I are looking forward to returning to India and I'm very eager to join this fantastic team in this mission!" adds Kaul.

Kaul holds a Bachelors in Engineering from Punjab Engineering College and an MBA from Symbiosis Centre for Management and HRD.