Indigo Director Rakesh Gangwal resigns from board, says will reduce equity stake over 5 years

Rakesh Gangwal, non-executive, non-independent director of IndiGo on Friday tendered resignation from the company's board of directors with immediate effect, the company said in a statement. In a letter to InterGlobe board members, Gangwal said that he will be reducing his equity stake in the company over five years.

"We hereby inform you that Rakesh Gangwal, non-executive, non-independent director has tendered his resignation from the Board of Directors of the Company vide his letter dated February 18, 2022, with immediate effect," IndiGo said in a filing.

In the resignation letter, Gangwal said he has taken the decision to step down from the board after considerable thought.

"I have been a long-term shareholder in the company for more than 15 years and it's only natural to someday think about diversifying one's holdings," Gangwal said in his resignation letter.

Earlier this month, IndiGo's board had unanimously approved the appointment of its co-founder Rahul Bhatia as the managing director. In a statement, IndiGo had said that Bhatia would not draw any salary from the company during his tenure as managing director.

Bhatia had also stated that his agenda would be transformational and would focus on expanding the airline's presence in India and in international markets and building for the long term.

"While new investors should benefit from the potential future growth in the company's share price, a gradual reduction of my stake should also allow me to benefit from some of the upside," Gangwal said.

He also added that he is worried about the optics of reducing the holdings even though such transactions would only be undertaken when he do not have any unpublished price sensitive information.