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DMart owner appoints Kalpana Unadkat as chairperson of Avenue Supermarts
Corporate lawyer to take the helm in April as Chandrashekhar Bhave steps down after completing his second term as independent director
MUMBAI: The boardroom baton at Avenue Supermarts, the company behind DMart, is set to change hands next month.
The retailer has appointed Kalpana Unadkat, an independent director on its board, as chairperson of the company with effect from 1 April 2026. The move was approved by the board at its meeting on 14 March.
She will succeed Chandrashekhar Bhave, who will step down as chairman at the close of business on 31 March. Bhave’s second term as an independent director is scheduled to end on 16 May 2026.
Unadkat brings more than 25 years of experience in corporate law, governance and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. A dual-qualified solicitor in India and the United Kingdom, she previously served as senior partner at Khaitan & Co and as co-head of the India practice at London-based international law firm Ashurst. In those roles, she advised global companies on cross-border deals and strategic joint ventures.
On the board, she is known for her focus on corporate governance, regulatory frameworks and board effectiveness. Her experience advising companies during key turning points in their growth has given her a vantage point on long-term strategy, risk oversight and governance discipline.
Unadkat is also widely regarded as a strong advocate for boardroom leadership and governance standards. Over the years, she has worked with boards and senior executives on improving governance practices, mentoring more than 200 directors and senior leaders along the way.
Her appointment signals a shift from regulatory stewardship to governance leadership at the top of Avenue Supermarts’ board, as the company continues to scale its retail footprint across India.
The company said Unadkat is not related to any of the directors on the board.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
