In the next #ETAutoTownHall, we have invited Vipin Sondhi, MD and CEO of Ashok Leyland.The auto industry expert has an impeccable track record at handling large multinational corporations and have maneuvered through crisis in the past.

Vipin Sondhi is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ashok Leyland, one of the largest commercial vehicle, truck and bus manufacturer in the world. He has over three decades of experience in manufacturing and engineering companies such as JCB, Honda, Tata Steel and Tecumseh. Prior to Ashok Leyland, he was heading JCB lndia, where he spent over 13 years, and was a member of JCB’s global executive team.

Sondhi was appointed by the Government of India as the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal in December 2015. An elected member of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) National Council, he has been the Chairman of EXCON, South Asia’s largest exhibition for construction equipment from 2006 to 2019.

Sondhi is an alumnus of The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, The Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, and did his schooling from The Lawrence School, Sanawar. These institutions helped him constantly expand his academic boundaries, as well as extra- curricular activities that eventually laid the foundation for a holistic development.

Key Discussion Topics

•   Impact of Covid and How the industry will resurrect

•   Guidance and caution for the various stakeholders

•   Government's support and measures

•   Learnings from the past crisis

•   How will the new normal look like in automotive industry

•   The shape of economy