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Senior leaders exit Deloitte India amid shift in M&A strategy
Rival firms gain ground as Deloitte refocuses on high-value mergers and acquisitions
NEW DELHI: Deloitte has seen a series of senior departures in recent weeks, marking a period of transition as the firm recalibrates its mergers and acquisitions business, according to an Economic Times report. These exits follow a strategic shift in the firm’s advisory approach, which has increasingly focused on larger, high-value transactions.
The executives who have resigned include Rajesh Aggarwal, head of debt advisory, Ruchi Sarna, national head of consumer investment banking, and Suresh Atal, a senior partner in transaction advisory, according to the report. Industry sources indicate that Rajesh Aggarwal and Suresh Atal are likely to join PwC, while Sarna is also expected to move to a competing firm.
This movement follows a significant change in Deloitte’s leadership and focus over the past two years. After Rohit Berry joined from KPMG as president of the vertical, the firm began prioritising deals valued at over $250 million. Berry was accompanied by senior executives Vivek Gupta and Manish Aggarwal, leading to a larger migration of over 200 professionals from KPMG to Deloitte.
The competitive landscape remains fluid. PwC recently appointed Anmol Bhandari, a former Deloitte executive, as head of its transaction services vertical, reinforcing its dealmaking ambitions.
In the professional services sector, senior departures often trigger further team movements, suggesting that more staff may follow these leaders to their new firms.
Despite these exits, Deloitte is actively looking to rebuild its ranks. According to the report, the firm is currently looking to hire between six and nine partners to address gaps in its debt advisory team as it aggressively seeks fresh talent to maintain its market position.
As the major accounting firms continue to compete for leadership, the hierarchy of the Indian advisory market is shifting. While Deloitte has successfully recruited heavily from its rivals in the past, it now faces the challenge of retaining its own senior experts as they are courted by competitors like PwC.
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Ekart expands IKEA partnership with EV deliveries in Chennai
3PL to handle 600 plus products with 48 hour delivery via EV fleet.
MUMBAI: Flatpacks are going electric and your sofa might now arrive with a smaller carbon footprint. Ekart has expanded its partnership with IKEA to power last-mile deliveries in Chennai, doubling down on speed, scale and sustainability in one of India’s key urban markets. Under the collaboration, Ekart will manage end-to-end large-format deliveries for IKEA across the city using a 100 per cent dedicated electric vehicle fleet. The move makes Chennai the second major market after NCR-Delhi where Ekart handles IKEA’s last-mile logistics, signalling a broader rollout of EV-led supply chains.
The mandate is no small load. Ekart will oversee deliveries for over 600 products from IKEA’s catalogue, ranging from furniture to home décor—categories that demand specialised handling and precision logistics.
Backed by its technology-driven fulfilment network, Ekart is targeting deliveries within a 48-hour window, offering real-time tracking and end-to-end visibility from warehouse to doorstep. The focus is clear: faster turnarounds without compromising on control or customer experience.
The EV-first model also aligns with both companies’ sustainability goals, as urban logistics increasingly shifts towards zero-emission solutions. For IKEA, which continues to expand its omnichannel presence in India, reliable and eco-conscious last-mile delivery is becoming central to scale.
For Ekart, the partnership reinforces its positioning as an enterprise-grade logistics player in large-format commerce. The company already supports over 1,800 retail, D2C and enterprise brands, spanning last-mile delivery, part-truckload services and warehousing.
As India’s logistics ecosystem evolves, this collaboration highlights a growing trend: delivery is no longer just about distance, it’s about efficiency, experience and increasingly, emissions.
