Online edtech firm upGrad has appointed Byju’s former Chief Business Officer Arjun Mohan as the Chief Executive Officer of its India business.

Mohan, who has over a decade of experience in the edtech sector, began his career at Byju’s as a teacher and later rose through the ranks to take a leadership role. He oversaw the company’s sales and marketing verticals in its early years and was handling its international business until recently.

“Arjun brings with him a rich understanding of the online education space, the evolving consumer landscape and keen business acumen. I’m glad to have him on board as upGrad establishes a leadership position in the 50M+ working professional ecosystem in India,” Mayank Kumar, Co-founder and Managing Director at upGrad, said in a statement. “We have only scratched the surface of this large addressable market and with Arjun coming on board, I am certain that we will push towards further cementing our leadership position in the online higher education market.”

In a press statement, Mohan said, “From where I see, there is a huge potential in the online higher education space, and upGrad with its unique proposition is set to win the market. Being part of the core team that drove exponential business growth in my previous organization, I am confident of leveraging my experience to further accelerate upGrad’s growth journey.”

The education technology platform said its leads have jumped 50 percent due to the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown. Nikhil Barshikar, MD, Imarticus Learning reported an uptick of 52percent in the number of people taking up online courses as compared to the previous quarter.

According to reports, online learning, which was, anyway in a high-growth trajectory has received new impetus with the Covid-19 outbreak.