Following the death of previous CEO Ambareesh Murty, furniture and home products manufacturer Pepperfry selected co-founder Ashish Shah as CEO. In 2012, Shah and Murty co-founded Pepperfry. He was previously a business head at eBay India. Before launching Pepperfry, Murty worked as the country manager for eBay India.
“Over the past three months, the company’s co-founders have secured $23 million in funding from existing shareholders, including institutional investors and family offices, underscoring their confidence in the company’s vision and strategic plans for the future,” Pepperfry said in a statement.
Prior to this, Shah was the chief operating officer at Pepperfry, where he was in charge of operations, category management, product, and the omnichannel business.
“Pepperfry remains focused on its mission to provide a wide array of well-designed products to help customers create inspiring and functional living spaces,” Shah said in a statement. “Pepperfry has always been committed to enhancing the way people create homes, and I am honored to lead this incredible team of dedicated individuals who share this passion. The best tribute to Ambareesh will be to build on the foundation we laid and fortify Pepperfry’s position as India’s leading furniture and home products company.”
Murty's death on August 9, while on tour in Leh, sent shockwaves through the startup industry. The 51-year-old was one of the first e-commerce entrepreneurs in India to establish vertical internet commerce platforms. Over the next few years, Shah and Murty built Pepperfry into one of the major online furniture sellers, competing against both online and traditional brick-and-mortar furniture retailers.