Info Edge CEO Change: Oberoi Steps Down, Bikhchandani Returns (October 28)

The Info Edge CEO change was the headline nobody expected from Wednesday’s Q2 board meeting. Hitesh Oberoi, managing director and CEO of the Naukri parent, will step down from his full-time role at the close of business on December 2, 2026, and founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani will take charge as Executive Vice Chairman, Managing Director and Group CEO from December 3, subject to shareholder approval, according to the company’s exchange filing.

The same meeting cleared an interim dividend of ₹3 a share, so there was plenty for shareholders to digest in one evening.

What the Info Edge CEO change means at the top

Oberoi has been with the company for nearly 27 years, including more than 16 as MD and CEO. He isn’t walking away entirely. The board has appointed him an additional director, in the non-executive, non-independent category under promoters, from December 3, again subject to shareholder approval. Bikhchandani’s new term runs until April 26, 2031, the filing says.

In his resignation letter, quoted by Business Standard, Oberoi said he wants more time for higher education, entrepreneurship, investing, philanthropy and his family. The company’s press release puts a number on his tenure: during his 16 years as CEO, Info Edge’s market capitalisation grew from about ₹2,500 crore to about ₹80,000 crore.

We’d read this as a planned handover rather than a shock exit. The founder is not an outsider coming in to fix something. Bikhchandani has run the business alongside Oberoi for close to three decades, and the overlap of more than a month gives both of them time to hand things over properly.

Billings: Naukri steady, 99acres quicker, Shiksha hurting

The operating picture going into the change is mixed but mostly healthy. Info Edge had already published its Q2 FY27 billings in a company update dated October 8, and the numbers are worth a look:

• Standalone billings rose 12.8% year-on-year to ₹822.3 crore, from ₹729.0 crore.
• Recruitment Solutions, which is mostly Naukri, grew 12.6% to ₹613.8 crore. Management says that, adjusted for the timing of customer renewals, underlying growth was roughly 14-15%.
• 99acres billings jumped 21.2% to ₹148.3 crore, faster than the 16.5% growth it posted in Q1.
• Jeevansathi grew 18.4% to ₹39.7 crore.
• Shiksha fell 27.2% to ₹20.5 crore.

That Shiksha line tells a bigger story. The company says plainly that AI-driven search is answering user queries directly and cutting the referrals the education portal used to get. It’s a small business inside Info Edge, but it shows how AI search can take traffic away from internet platforms in India.

Dividend dates

The interim dividend is ₹3 per share on a face value of ₹2, for FY27. As Livemint reported from the filing, the record date is Friday, November 6, 2026, and payment will be made on or after November 23. Livemint also noted the shares slipped after the announcement.

What to watch

The first thing to watch is whether the market treats the founder’s return as continuity, which is what the company is clearly going for. After that, it’s whether Naukri’s growth stays in the low-to-mid teens while hiring in IT is still uneven. We covered that sector’s mood in our note on the Nifty IT fall on October 28. And if you want to know why one quarter’s numbers can move a stock more than expected, our explainer on earnings surprise covers it.

Disclaimer: This article is for information and education only and is not investment advice. Please do your own research or consult a SEBI-registered adviser before making any investment decision.