Top appointments in 2018
Sneak Peak into top level management appointments made in the year 2018.
Kia Motors India on January 3 appointed Kookhyun Shim as new MD and CEO. Shim is responsible for driving Kia Motors’ expansion in the Indian market.
Tata Motors appointed Hanne Sorensen as independent director on Jaunary 3. Raghunath Mashelkar ceased to be a director of the company with effect from December 31, 2017 in accordance with its retirement age policy of directors.
Suresh Chettiar, on January 5, was appointed as Business Head of Volvo Buses South Asia. He replaced VRV Sriprasad, who had opted for early retirement.
N Raja on January 11 was appointed as chairman, Lexus India. While PB Venugopal was elected as president, Lexus India; and Tadashi Sakamoto took over the position of executive vice-president.
ochen Schroder on January 24 assumed leadership of Schaeffler Group’s newly-established e-mobility business division and reports to Matthias Zink, CEO-Automotive OEM.
Porsche on March 21 named Jens Puttfarcken new chief for China and Hong Kong effective from July 2018.
Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, on March announced the appointment of Lone Fonss Schroder as vice chairman of the Board. Fonss Schroder has been a member of the Volvo Cars Board since 2010 and replaced Mikael Olsson.
Skoda Auto India on April 2 named Gurpratap Boparai as managing director. He is reporting directly to Skoda Auto CEO Bernhard Maier and is responsible for Skoda’s development in the domestic market.
The automotive component listed company, Lumax on April 4 appointed DK Jain as chairman emeritus and chief mentor to the Board.
Automobili Lamborghini on April 23 appointed Matteo Ortenzi as chief executive officer of Asia Pacific and Andrea Baldi as chief executive officer of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Jaguar Land Rover on May 3 announced that Grant McPherson will join the Board of Management as executive director, Manufacturing from July 1 and will report directly to JLR CEO Ralf Speth.
The BorgWarner Board of Directors on June 8 announced the appointment of Frederic Lissalde as president and chief executive officer and he also joined the Board of Directors at that time. He replaced James R Verrier who stepped down.
Volkswagen's truck and bus division on June 15 named Christian Schulz as its new finance chief, replacing Matthias Gruendler, who resigned for personal reasons.
Mahindra First Choice Wheels on July 2 appointed Ashutosh Pandey as CEO. He replaced Nagendra Palle.
Ola on July 4 appointed Simon Smith as Managing Director for Australia. Smith now heads and develop the leadership team and play a pivotal role in building Ola’s presence including strategy, marketing, product development, customer service, and engagement with driver-partners and other stakeholders.
Martin Schwenk on July 9 replaced Roland Folger as MD & CEO of Mercedes Benz India. Folger assumed a new position for Mercedes-Benz’s Thailand & Vietnam markets.
Auto components maker JTEKT India on July 10 said it has appointed Akihiko Kawano as Managing Director. Image Source: Autocomponents India
Tata AutoComp on July 11 announced the elevation of its COO and President Arvind Goel to the post of MD & CEO with effect from September 6. Goel replaced Ajay Tandon, whose terms as MD & CEO of Tata AutoComp Systems ended on September 5, 2018
Lanxess India on July 19 appointed Neelanjan Banerjee as MD. Banerjee succeeds Jacques Perez, who took over new responsibilities as Managing Director of Lanxess Holding UK Unlimited.
Vikram Pawah on July 24 was appointed as CEO of BMW Group in Australia and New Zealand. He has additionally been promoted as the Chairman of BMW Group India and will remain committed to the Indian market in his expanded role.
Shoeb Farooq on August 3 had been promoted to MD, Triumph India after Vimal Sumbly quit. Shoeb has been with Triumph Motorcycles India since its inception five years back and has been instrumental in expanding the business in India.
Escorts Ltd on August 7 appointsed Nikhil Nanda as Chairman and Managing Director. The Board unanimously appointed him to succeed late Rajan Nanda, former Chairman and Managing Director of Escorts Limited who passed away after a brief illness.
Ride Hailing platform, Ola on August 13 appointed Ben Legg as Managing Director of UK operations. In his new role, Ben was to lead and develop the senior leadership team, drive strategy and operations and establish a UK nationwide presence by the end of 2018.
Vimal Sumbly on September 3 joined Royal Enfield as Head, Asia Pacific. Sumbly's hiring is likely to give a boost to Royal Enfield's plan to become a global player in the premium motorcycle segment.
Nissan on September 19 appointed Suja Chandy as MD for Nissan Digital India. Chandy is responsible for operations of Nissan's first Global Digital Hub in Kerela.
Daimler AG on September 26 named Swede Ola Kaellenius as its next chief executive as part of a succession plan which also seeks to install then CEO Dieter Zetsche as a back-seat driver.
Delphi Technologies on October 6 named Hari Nair as interim CEO. Nair succeeded Liam Butterworth who stepped down from his role as President and Chief Executive Officer to pursue other interests.
Sajeev Rajasekharan, former EVP of Suzuki Motorcycle India, on October 12 joined cult bike maker Harley Davidson India as the Managing Director. He was to see Harley Davidson's mid-size motorcycles in the 250-500 cc range in India. Image source: Source: exchange4media
Volkswagen on October 11 appointed Scott Keogh as America group CEO. Scott Keogh, then head of Audi of America, became president and chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America as well as head of the Volkswagen brand for the North American region effective November 1.
Apollo Tyres on October 16 elevated Benoit Rivallant to head its European Operations. He succeeded Mathias Heimann, who after leading the company’s European Operations successfully for the last four years, moved into an advisory role.
TVS Motors on October 23 promoted Radhakrishnan as Director & CEO. For a period of five years, he will hold the office as the Director and CEO.Prior to this, he has served the company as President and led the expansion of TVS into over 60 international markets.
Ford appointed Anning Chennew, a former executive at the firm, as new China CEO and president to revive falling sales on October 24.
On November 8, Brian Krzanich took the role lead CDK Global. He resigned from Intel in June after the company learned that he had carried on a consensual relationship with an employee.
Dheeraj Hinduja on November 13 became MD & CEO of Ashok Leyland after Vinod K. Dasari resigned.
On November 30, Seon Seob Kim took the position of CEO & Managing Director, Hyundai India after YK Koo has stepped down from his position to take up new role at the headquarters in Korea.
Harish Chavan on December 4 replaced Viren Popli as head of Swaraj Tractor. Chavan has been associated with Mahindra & Mahindra for over 21 years. Most recently he was working with Mahindra & Mahindra Farm Equipment Sector (FES) as Chief of International operations.
The technical alliance between Renault-Nissan alliance on December 6 announced the appointment of Biju Balendran as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Renault Nissan Automotive India (RNAIPL). While, Sambath Kumar has been appointed as the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) for Nissan India Operations and Renault Nissan Automotive India.
Audi appointed Bram Schot as CEO on December 13. Since June 2018, Schot has headed Audi as interim CEO after former chief executive Rupert Stadler had been arrested for "danger of collusion" in the diesel emission scandal.
Apollo Tyres' shareholders approved reappointment of Neeraj Kanwar as MD on December 21. In September, minority shareholders of the company had rejected the reappointment of Kanwar as MD over compensation issue.
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