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Ankiti Bose (born 1992) is an Indian former business executive who co-founded defunct e-commerce company, Zilingo. On 31 March 2022, she was suspended as CEO after an attempt to raise capital raised questions about Zilingo's accounting practices, according to Bloomberg.[1][2] On 20 May 2022 Bose was fired from Zilingo.[3]
Early life and education
Bose was born in India.[4] She completed her schooling from Cambridge School, Kandivli, MumbaiTemplate:Citation needed. She studied mathematics and economics at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.[5]
Career
Bose began her career working at McKinsey & Company and Sequoia Capital in Bangalore.[6] After a trip to the Chatuchak Weekend Market[7] Bose noticed that fashion markets in Southeast Asia had immense room for penetration and growth.[5] The market includes over 11,000 independent merchants lacking an online presence.[5] Whilst there was investment in improving access to the internet, Bose recognized that retailers were not trained in financing, scaling-up, website design, and procurement nor well equipped to compete with large global players.[6]
In 2015, Bose left her position as an investment analyst at Sequoia Capital to launch her own company, Zilingo.[8] Bose was twenty three when she founded Zilingo.[9] She moved to Singapore in 2016, where she developed the software and supply chain solutions.[10]
The China–United States trade war resulted in United States retailers leaving China, which allowed Zilingo to expand into America.[11] She has worked to source Indian fabrics for Californian factories as well as opening offices on the West Coast and East Coast.[11] At Zilingo, Bose supported a program to train women in Indonesia to create clothing, recognising that in Indonesia almost 40% of women leave the workforce after they get married.[11][12] Zilingo set up a coaching programme to support leaders across the company.[11]
In March 2022, Bose was suspended, from Zilingo with allegations of financial misrepresentation and mismanagement, pending an investigation. Among other allegations, shareholders questioned her S$50,000 per month salary which according to her contract five years ago was S$8,500. Her management style of using intimidation to extract compliance in her daily working in Zilingo was also called into question.[13]
References
- ↑ Temasek-backed Zilingo suspends CEO amid accounting probe - Bloomberg News. Nasdaq. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
- ↑ Zilingo Fires CEO as Clash Over Embattled Startup Escalates. Bloomberg News. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ↑ Zilingo finally fires CEO Ankiti Bose after 51-day suspension—for 'insubordination'. Fortune. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ↑ Meet the 27-year-old Ankiti Bose running a nearly $1 billion fashion startup. The Economic Times(2019-02-13). Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Meet the 27-year-old set to be India's first woman to co-found a $1 billion start-up, Gilchrist, Karen. CNBC(2019-05-23). Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Why this 27-year-old is happy she worked a corporate job before starting her $1 billion business, Gilchrist, Karen. CNBC(2019-05-24). Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ↑ How a trip to a Thai market inspired the launch of an almost $1bn start-up. The National. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ↑ Why this 27-year-old is happy she worked a corporate job before starting her $1 billion business. CNBC(2019-05-24). Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ↑ At 27, Ankiti Bose Is Set To Become The First Indian Woman To Found A Billion-Dollar Startup. This Is How She Did It, Xinyi, Hong. Hong Kong Tatler(2019-09-06). Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ↑ Ankiti Bose is on a mission to level the playing field for women. Prestige Online(2019-05-29). Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Ankiti Bose, Southeast Asia's Tech Sensation, Lee, Yoolim. www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ↑ In Good Company. Verve Magazine(2020-01-21). Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ↑ How a Celebrity CEO's Rule of Fear Helped Bring Down Hot Startup Zilingo. Bloomberg. Retrieved 2022-08-07.