Impending Inc., the company behind popular apps like Heads Up, Clear, and Classics, has announced the appointment of Cherian Thomas, formerly Byju’s Senior Vice-President for International Business, as its new chief executive officer.
Known for its unique user experience (UX) innovations such as swipe to complete, tilt to change, pinch to insert, and flip to change, Impending has been a leader in its field.
New role
In his new role as the CEO of Impending Inc, Thomas will concentrate on expanding and scaling the product portfolio, while also growing and reinforcing a global talent pool. Drawing on his varied background, strategic acumen, and operational proficiency, Thomas aims to make a substantial impact.
Thomas established Byju’s US operations. He was also at the helm of Byju’s-owned educational gaming firm, Osmo, as its CEO, achieving revenue in excess of $100 million in FY21. As Byju’s first international hire in 2017, he was instrumental in constructing the international organisation from scratch and spearheading acquisitions such as Osmo.
He had also co-founded and sold a VC-backed start-up, Cucumbertown, to Japanese conglomerate Cookpad in 2016.
“Impending espouses everything I’d do if I were to start again. There’s no looming deadline or pressure to meet metrics to impress a board. It’s a process of execution, failure, evolution, re-release, and scaling, all without scrutiny,” said Thomas.
“We share a vision of creating inspired apps with the potential to become pop-culture phenomena, without compromise. We are committed to making this vision a reality together,” stated Phill Ryu, Co-Founder of Impending Inc., speaking about Thomas’ appointment.
Rejig at Byju’s
Last month, Byju’s appointed Arjun Mohan, former CEO of upGrad, as the CEO of its international business. Last week, the company, as part of a performance-review process, had to let go of about 100 employees, reported businessline.
The company has also onboarded Infosys veteran Richard Lobo as an exclusive advisor to help transform its HR function. Since 2022, Byju’s has laid off at least 5,000 employees.
Byju’s held a call with over 100 investor representatives on August 14, where they updated them on the progress related to audited results, term loan B negotiations, refinancing of debt, and other issues, reported businessline.