Zilingo co-founder Ankiti Bose steps down from company board
- ByStartupStory | July 1, 2022
Ankiti Bose, a co-founder of Zilingo and its former CEO, made the announcement on June 30 that she had resigned from her director positions with the holding company Zilingo Pte Ltd and its subsidiaries. Bose announced her resignation in an Instagram post, claiming that the “opacity of information” regarding her as a board member and shareholder was what ultimately led to the decision.
“Over the past few months, despite my many requests, the Zilingo board has failed to show me any report (issued by Kroll or Deloitte) which pertained to any investigations into the company or into my alleged misconduct, and why or how these were used to terminate my position as CEO,” This, she continued, was in spite of the fact that she is a sizable stakeholder and a director on the board of the holding company and subsidiaries of Zilingo. She claimed that further significant company information was also withheld from her.
She continued by saying that both clients and staff are in a precarious situation. “It is heartbreakingly clear to me that hundreds of employees and customers are also in a state of limbo… I would once again request every Zilingo shareholder to try and look past our differences and personal agenda and prioritise what is best for our people,” she added. “Real lives and jobs have been at stake,” she said, stating she will support any plan that saves jobs at the company.
The Singapore-based B2B e-commerce business fired Bose on May 20 after suspending him for alleged financial violations. When the business was seeking funding, she was informed of mismanagement and accounting issues. Zilingo claimed that the Board unanimously decided to suspend Bose over financial issues, despite media reports claiming that she had also been fired for dismissing allegations of sexual harassment. It further stated that the charges of harassment surfaced only following her suspension on March 31.
Bose and her co-founder Dhruv Kapoor collaborated to undertake a management buyout of the business earlier this month. This occurred when plans for the company’s voluntary liquidation were being discussed. In a statement, Bose stated, “As founders, it is our ultimate responsibility to make sure that we do everything it takes to make sure that the lights stay on at Zilingo and in the homes of the hundreds of people that are part of it.”
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