Aakash Instructional Companies Restricted (AESL), a supplier of check preparation companies for engineering and medical entrance examinations, has appointed Alka Garg as Chief Monetary Officer and Kanika Kumar Nijhawan as Senior Vice President – Advertising.

The appointments come at a time when the corporate is sharpening its concentrate on governance, operational effectivity and progress. Earlier, Deepak Mehrotra, Managing Director and Chief Govt Officer of Aakash, resigned in August final yr, 16 months after being appointed in April 2024.

Alka Garg brings greater than 22 years of strategic and operational expertise throughout listed enterprises and high-growth startups. She has labored intently with founders, chief executives and govt groups to drive enterprise worth creation, allow worthwhile scaling and help sustainable progress.

At AESL, Garg will lead the finance operate, spearhead monetary technique, enhance operational effectivity, strengthen governance buildings and help the corporate’s future progress plans.

Earlier than becoming a member of Aakash, she served as Chief Monetary Officer at Yum Restaurant India, the place she performed a key function in shaping the monetary technique for the KFC model and enhancing general enterprise efficiency. Her earlier management roles embrace positions at Siemens, GreyOrange, Bharti Airtel and Deloitte.

Kanika Kumar Nijhawan joins AESL with over 17 years of expertise throughout the media, retail and sports activities sectors. She brings experience in model constructing, strategic advertising and marketing, digital and efficiency advertising and marketing, and omnichannel engagement.

Previous to Aakash, she spent a decade at Adidas India as Director – Model Advertising. She has additionally labored with HT Media and Sony Leisure.

AESL specialises in preparation for high-stakes medical entrance examinations corresponding to NEET and engineering entrance examinations corresponding to JEE. It additionally prepares college students for aggressive exams together with NTSE and Olympiads. The corporate operates a pan-India community of greater than 415 centres and has over 400,000 college students at the moment enrolled.