Interim Chief Executive Officer — Education Technology Restructuring

The mandate

The company breached a lender covenant after enrolment cash and refund liabilities diverged from plan, and the founder-CEO stepped down when the board demanded product closures. Active learners still require classes, assessments and certification while the business resets its cost and financing structure.

The interim must begin within ten days for a fixed twelve-month term. Permanent recruitment starts after the restructuring and product perimeter are approved, with an eight-week transition before the assignment ends.

Handover is complete when active learner obligations are funded, discontinued products have teach-out and refund plans, retained offerings meet contribution and completion thresholds for two quarters, lender terms are regularised, and the permanent CEO presents the next annual plan.

The interim may stop new enrolments, restructure spend within approved workforce limits, allocate the ₹20 crore learner-protection reserve and negotiate operating contracts. Workforce action above 15%, lender restructuring, capital raising, permanent C-suite hiring, product closure affecting over 25,000 learners and redress above ₹15 crore require board approval.

Acquisition, international expansion and founder shareholding are outside scope. The interim must stabilise the existing company and cannot pursue a sale or unrelated growth thesis.

Why this seat is open

The covenant event removed the runway for a founder-led gradual reset. Functional leaders are tied to products whose closure or retention must be judged impartially. A temporary CEO can protect learners and creditors while the board recruits for the smaller, proven operating company.

What you will own

• Decide which products continue, pause or enter teach-out using learner obligation, completion, demand, contribution and regulatory evidence.
• Establish a funded learner-protection plan covering classes, faculty, assessment, certification, support and eligible refunds.
• Rebuild cash and liability reporting from enrolment contract through collections, delivery, cancellation and refund.
• Present workforce, facility and supplier actions that match the retained product perimeter.
• Negotiate covenant cure and funding choices with transparent control, cash and learner consequences.
• Demonstrate two quarters of retained-product contribution, completion and service within approved thresholds.
• Transfer learner obligations, lender commitments, product decisions, leadership assessments and annual-plan assumptions to the permanent CEO.

Candidate qualifications

• Served as CEO, business president or COO during a digital consumer or education restructuring.
• Protected prepaid customer or learner obligations during product closure and cash stress.
• Negotiated lender covenant cure, bridge funding or formal restructuring.
• Closed or taught out products with transparent customer communication and service continuity.
• Led material cost and workforce action while preserving critical delivery capabilities.
• Has transitioned a stabilised business to permanent chief executive leadership.

Non-negotiables

• Available for full-time Bengaluru leadership within ten days.
• No current relationship with lenders, founders, education partners or restructuring advisers.
• Will not use new enrolment cash to obscure unfunded existing learner obligations.
• Must accept board thresholds over capital, workforce and high-impact product closure.

1. 49 words maximum. Confirm availability and disclose any founder, lender or education-sector conflict.
2. 49 words maximum. Describe a prepaid-customer obligation you protected during restructuring.
3. 49 words maximum. Which evidence determines whether an education product is taught out rather than retained?