India’s first direct to consumer (D2C) unicorn, Licious, has appointed Vidyanand Krishnan as chief customer officer and Meeta Aggarwal as chief financial officer (CFO).

In their respective roles, both leaders will be instrumental in furthering the ambitious growth journey that Licious has been.

A seasoned leader, Krishnan will lead the customer agenda and play a strategic role in driving customer retention and loyalty for the Bengaluru-based D2C meat and seafood brand.

With previous roles at Dunzo, Walmart, Cognizant, and Accenture, Vidyanand brings valuable experience in retail and product management to his new role.

An alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, he was the business lead at Walmart, responsible for building express pickup and delivery for the online grocery business. After spending over six years at Walmart, he moved to Bengaluru in 2020 to join Dunzo where he led the customer experience functions during the company's transition into a Q-Commerce retailer.

Aggarwal will focus on driving profitable and sustainable growth, cost efficiencies, effective working capital management and strong governance/controls for Licious.

She brings with her rich experience of over 18 years across financial planning, controllership, business partnering, performance management and corporate governance. Having worked across geographies and cultures, Aggarwal is adept in developing collaborative partnerships and delivering results on complex cross- functional projects.

An ardent leader, she is also passionate about building and leading high-performance teams. Prior to joining Licious, Aggarwal was the chief financial officer - India and Southeast Asia at Anheuser Busch-InBev India. She has worked across other prestigious organisations like Telenor and HCL. Aggarwal is a qualified Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary and an alumnus of FORE School of Management.

“Throughout our six years journey we have been supported by some of the best and brightest from India Inc. Not only have they contributed immensely to the growth of the company, but also to our knowledge and understanding of the complex business ecosystem that we operate in. With Vidyanand and Meeta, we aim at taking that journey further ahead. We are thrilled to welcome Vidyanand and Meeta on-board  and wish them the very best,” said Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta, co-founders, Licious.

“I am excited to join the fantastic team at Licious at such a pivotal moment in this remarkable journey of delivering the best-in-class meat experience to Indian consumers. As a customer-first brand, Licious has always put the customer’s needs at the heart of every experience. I look forward to creating more and better ways to connect with the brand’s ever-growing, loyal customer base,” said Krishnan.

Speaking about her new stint, Aggarwal said, “I am delighted to be part of the elite league of Licians! As someone who has been part of the growth story at matured organisations, it is fascinating to see the agility and momentum that Licious exhibits. Licious presents a unique opportunity to build for the future while working on resurrecting an age-old industry. I am excited to say the least and look forward to being part of the Licious journey.”

Last year, Licious got a billion-dollar valuation, making it the first D2C unicorn in the country.