Pocket FM Reshuffle Continues as India Country Head Suyog Gothi Exits
The leadership shakeup at audio entertainment platform Pocket FM shows no signs of slowing down. In the latest high-profile departure, the company’s India Country Head, Suyog Gothi, has stepped down from his position, multiple sources tracking the matter have confirmed.
According to individuals familiar with the matter, Nitin Verma has stepped in to take over Gothi's operational responsibilities as part of an ongoing internal restructuring.
Gothi, who joined the audio-series unicorn in December 2023, brought robust fintech and e-commerce experience to the role, having previously spent nearly seven years at PhonePe leading their UPI payments and merchant lending arms, alongside an earlier stint at Flipkart. While sources indicate that teams are being realigned and further organizational shifts may follow, his next destination remains unconfirmed.
Confirming the movement, a Pocket FM spokesperson stated, “Suyog Gothi moved on from Pocket FM over seven months ago to pursue new opportunities.” The company further emphasized that his departure was separate from recent structural product shifts.
A Broader Wave of Executive Departures
Gothi’s exit is part of a wider string of senior departures that have hit the company over the last few weeks:
Ankit Singh (Assistant Vice President of Content) announced his departure following a two-year tenure.
Anurag Sharma (Chief Financial Officer) resigned after nearly three years with the company to explore entrepreneurial ventures.
Mayank Sancheti (Senior Vice President) also stepped down from his leadership position during the same period.
Addressing questions regarding the momentum of these exits, the Pocket FM spokesperson added, “As with any growing organization, leadership transitions happen from time to time for a range of personal and professional reasons. We are not aware of any basis for the suggestion that additional senior-level exits are expected.”
Strategic Realignment and Pivot from Microdramas
The organizational reshuffle coincides with a significant tightening of Pocket FM’s product portfolio. The platform recently made the strategic decision to shut down Pocket TV, its experimental microdrama video vertical, after concluding that the business was not proving to be a material driver of its core operations.
While the company remains heavily dominant in the long-form audio series market—boasting strong language localization and millions of active listeners across India and the US—management noted that they may only revisit the microdrama landscape in the future if market conditions and operational timing align. For now, the internal focus remains squarely on scaling its highly profitable audio ecosystem under its realigned leadership layout.