Krishnan co-founded Ecom Express in 2012 with K Satyanarayana, Manju Dhawan and Sanjeev Saxena. Krishnan had served as its chief operating officer and chief executive, before relinquishing those roles to become a director. Before starting Ecom Express, he was a senior vice president Blue Dart Express.
A prolonged illness for over a year led Krishnan to step back from daily operations at the company. He passed away on Thursday morning and his cremation took place in the evening. Saxena had passed away in 2020.
Krishnan is among senior industry executives who set up a third-party logistics network for ecommerce in India when the industry was still in its infancy. Ecom Express works closely with large marketplaces Flipkart, Amazon India, Meesho, Tata Neu and others.
“I have known Krishnan for nearly 35 years and will miss him. He not only built Ecom Express to contribute immensely to the logistics sector but also passionately worked to expand the e-commerce landscape in India,” cofounder and director Satyanarayana said in a statement. “He was visionary in decisions he took for the industry, and in the process touched lakhs of lives, leaving an indelible mark on all of us,.”
All four cofounders of Ecom Express have stepped down from CXO roles, according to the company’s site. In June, Ecom Express appointed Ajay Chitkara as its new chief executive. Chitkara had previously been with telecom giant Bharti Airtel’s enterprise business as chief executive.
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Ecom Express now serves over 27,000 pin codes in more than 2,700 cities and towns across all the states and union territories, according to its website. “What Krishnan built at Ecom Express is nothing short of a credible culture and pioneering customer-first business. His visionary leadership, passion to expand the logistics landscape in India and a relentless commitment to large-scale automation and supply chain solutions, enabled what Ecom Express is today,” Chitkara said.