Allen Career Institute Private Limited, a prominent player in India's test preparation sector, has announced the appointment of Abha Maheshwari, a former executive at Meta, as the Chief Executive Officer of its digital division. This move comes as competition intensifies within the test prep edtech industry.
According to a statement released on May 23, Maheshwari's role will involve building Allen's digital and technology teams in Bengaluru, with a focus on creating digital-first products to enhance the delivery of outcome-based learning to students.
Maheshwari brings a wealth of experience to the position, having previously served as the director and head of commerce and payments, product partnerships for India at Meta, based in their San Francisco office. During her tenure, she led the strategy, product development, and execution of commerce platform integrations, scaling it to a global program. With over 20 years of experience in product management, growth, and partnerships in consumer technology, Maheshwari is well-equipped to contribute to Allen's digital endeavors.
Expressing her enthusiasm about joining Allen, Maheshwari stated, "I am thrilled to join Allen at a time when education is being revolutionized through technology interventions. I look forward to building upon Allen's rich academic legacy and scaling access to education through technology-enabled, digital experiences."
Maheshwari's educational background includes a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay, a Master's in Computer Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business, Berkeley, as per Allen Career Institute.
Nitin Kukreja, recently appointed as the CEO of Allen Career Institute, expressed excitement about Maheshwari's appointment, stating, "We are excited to have Abha join us to lead our digital initiatives. Her expertise in product management, growth, and partnerships in global consumer technology companies will help bolster our efforts to scale digital-first consumer experience at Allen. Abha's appointment marks Allen's continued commitment to strengthening its leadership team by bringing in top talent from across the globe."
Allen Career Institute has been actively strengthening its digital arm through various leadership-level hires, including Ankit Khurana as the chief product officer and Saurabh Tandon as the chief technology officer. The company plans to expand its technology and product teams in Bengaluru to a workforce of 200 by the end of the year.
Last year, Allen launched its wholly-owned subsidiary, Allen Digital, after securing $600 million (Rs 4,500 crore) in funding from James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree Systems. This move allowed the education company to enter the multi-billion dollar edtech market. Allen aims to expand its presence beyond India with the launch of Allen Digital, although specific geographies have not been disclosed.
As the offline competition in the test prep industry faces the easing of Covid-19 restrictions across the country, Allen's foray into the online space positions the company to stay competitive and adapt to the evolving educational landscape.
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