Nazara Founder Nitish Mittersain Steps Down as MD After Nearly 27 Years; CaratLane’s Mithun Sacheti Takes Executive Role, Arun Agrawal Named CFO
Nazara Technologies, India’s only listed gaming company, has announced a major leadership reshuffle. Founder Nitish Mittersain has stepped down as Managing Director and will now serve as Founder and Non-Executive Director, with the change taking effect from the close of business on October 12, 2026, subject to shareholder approval.
Here’s who steps in. Mithun Padam Sacheti, the CaratLane founder who became a co-promoter of Nazara last year, has been elevated from Non-Executive Director to Whole-time Director, designated Executive Director, for a five-year term. He will now handle both strategic and operational decisions, with a focus on driving Nazara’s global gaming push across mobile, PC, console and offline platforms.
The finance leadership is changing too. Arun Agrawal takes over as CFO on October 16, replacing Rakesh Shah, who has resigned to pursue opportunities outside the company. Agrawal is a chartered accountant with over two decades of experience, previously serving as global CFO at Ness Digital Engineering and Mastek, and earlier holding roles at Firstsource Solutions, GE, Wipro and Tata Motors.
This is the second step in a gradual handover, not a sudden exit. Earlier this year, Mittersain stepped down as CEO effective September 1, with former Google executive Raymond Stauffer taking over that role, while Mittersain continued as MD. Now the MD role has also moved on, completing a clean separation between founder and day-to-day management. During Mittersain’s second stint as CEO, Nazara’s revenue grew from Rs 1,091 crore to Rs 1,829 crore, EBITDA more than doubled, and the company raised over Rs 1,600 crore in growth capital.
The same board meeting also approved a USD 77 million investment in Nazara’s UK subsidiary and a Rs 730.78 crore share allotment to five individuals. This comes at a challenging time operationally, with Nazara reporting a Rs 82.5 crore consolidated net loss in Q1 FY27 and revenue down 14% year-on-year, largely because Nodwin Gaming is no longer consolidated.
Mittersain isn’t exiting entirely. He stays on the board and will continue to offer strategic guidance, a classic founder move of stepping back from operations while staying close to the steering wheel.
From building a company in 1999 to handing over both the CEO and MD roles, Nazara’s leadership transition shows how founder-led firms are evolving as they scale globally.
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— Sandeep Raiza