Who is Deepinder Goyal? The man who took Indian food delivery to new heights with Zomato
Eternal announced that Albinder Dhindsa will take over as the new Group CEO, while Deepinder Goyal will take the role of Vice Chairman on the board of directors
Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal, one of the pioneers in the food delivery industry in India, resigned as the Group Chief Executive Officer of Eternal, the app’s holding company.
Eternal announced the decision on Wednesday, saying in a regulatory filing that Albinder Dhindsa, currently heading Blinkit, will take over as the new Group CEO, while Goyal will transition to the role of Vice Chairman on the board of directors, subject to shareholder approval.
Who is Deepinder Goyal?
Born on January 26, 1983, in Punjab’s Muktsar, Deepinder Goyal completed his graduation from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in 2005, in the field of Mathematics and Computing.
He founded Foodie Bay in 2008 as a restaurant menu aggregator, which was later rebranded as Zomato in 2010. Although the company is older than any other food delivery startups in the country, it did not explicitly enter the business till 2015.
Before Goyal took the food delivery industry to new heights with Zomato, it had already been blossoming, with startups like Food Panda (later acquired by Ola) and Swiggy launching in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
He has stated in many interviews that he has always been interested in food, which encouraged him to start a venture that would help people have their lunch, breakfast, and dinner conveniently.
Apart from building his company, Deepinder Goyal is a poetry lover and a bibliophile. He even published a book on an ideal workspace culture, titled “Culture”.
He has also invested in various start-ups, including Bira 91, Hyper Track, TerraDo, and Squad Strack.
Deepinder Goyal’s journey so far
Deepinder Goyal founded a food directory company, initially named Foodie Bay, along with Pankaj Chaddah. Later rebranded as Zomato, the company expanded its global footprint, reaching countries such as South Africa, Canada, the UAE, and New Zealand.
Zomato launched its food delivery service in 2015, quickly becoming one of the market leaders alongside Swiggy.
Zomato went public in 2021 and was incorporated into a holding company named Eternal in 2025, along with other group assets such as the quick-delivery app Blinkit, with Goyal at the helm.
Why did Deepinder Goyal resign as Eternal CEO?
In his statement to the shareholders, Deepinder Goyal outlined the reason behind his stepping down as the CEO and MD of Eternal Group.
“Of late, I have found myself drawn to a set of new ideas that involve higher-risk exploration and experimentation. These are the kinds of ideas that are better pursued outside a public company like Eternal,” Goyal said in a letter to shareholders.
“If these ideas belonged inside Eternal’s strategic scope, I would have pursued them within the company. They do not. Eternal deserves to remain focused and disciplined while exploring new areas of growth that are relevant to its current line of business,” the statement added.
“The centre of gravity for operating decisions moves to Albi. As Group CEO, he will own day-to-day execution, operating priorities, and business decisions,” he continued.
