Flipkart billionaire's exit puts corporate India on notice

By Bruce Einhorn and Bhuma Shrivastava 

The surprise resignation of an Indian tech billionaire has pulled corporate India deeper into the #MeToo firestorm that’s been sweeping through the American business community for more than a year. 

Walmart Inc. announced Tuesday that Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal was leaving the company after an independent probe into allegations of sexual assault. While Bansal denies any wrongdoing and the investigators didn’t find evidence of assault, the process revealed “lapses in judgment” that troubled the parent company’s leadership. 

By buying Flipkart, Walmart made Bansal a billionaire and a national icon. By forcing his resignation, the company turned him into an example of the kind of zero-tolerance corporate policy that’s come to be expected in the U.S., where the #MeToo movement has brought consequences for dozens of CEOs and senior leaders in business and finance. 

Many have been fired, resigned or otherwise sidelined. American companies have been called on to articulate and, in many cases, strengthen their sexual harassment policies. Investors have begun to consider sexual harassment risk when allocating capital. 

India’s own #MeToo movement exploded this fall, and it’s still gathering momentum. A handful of prominent men in entertainment and in government -- executives at local units of Dentsu Aegis and Fox Star Studios; a minister, M.J. Akbar -- have faced professional consequences. But corporate leaders have remained largely untouched. 

Source