CTOs: An endangered species in startup land?

New-age companies that have relied on tech to drive disruption are now opting out of hiring replacements for the once-prized chief technology officer (CTO) role after the position becomes vacant, in a bid to cut costs during the ongoing funding downturn.

Zomato, Swiggy, Byju’s, Ola Mobility, BookMyShow and Udaan, are among the startups that have re-evaluated the CTO position by hiring internally, redistributing an outgoing CTO’s responsibilities to senior leaders, or even leaving the position vacant in some cases, according to research by LONGHOUSE Consulting.

After tech leaders like Zomato’s Gunjan Patidar, Leadsquared’s Sudhakar Gorti, Healthify’s Sachin Shenoy, Apna’s Shantanu Preetam, and Udaan’s Gaurav Bhalotia, left their respective companies, their responsibilities were redistributed among other lower ranked leaders in the hierarchy instead of the companies looking for a replacement to fill the position.

“Startups are facing significant cost pressures, and promoting internal talent saves costs. These alternatives of external hiring are also helping maintain focus, and avoiding disruptions during the downturn,” Anshuman Das, CEO of Careernet and Longhouse Consulting, told Mint.

In fact, companies that are retaining their high-cost CTOs are pushing them to take on additional roles such as “IT management, product oversight, or broader organisational responsibilities,” according to the research.

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