Commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland has appointed Vipin Sondhi as the new chief executive officer and managing director of the company. The position was vacant since Vinod K Dasari quit in November 2018.
Sondhi has been leading large MNC organisations with more than three decades of experience in the manufacturing and engineering sectors. He formally joined the Hinduja Group in November 2019.
In his new role, he will focus on consolidation, growth and future strategy of Hinduja Group's global automotive portfolio.
"Vipin has a strong, proven track record as a leader and is a Passionate and hands-on professional. His known ability to drive performance working seamlessly with all key stakeholders will be valuable at Ashok Leyland. I am confident that the company will reach new frontiers under his stewardship and look forward to some very exciting times in 2020 and beyond," said Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman, Ashok Leyland.
"Ashok Leyland an institution with a rich 70-year legacy of pioneering technology leadership, perhaps the only pure-play Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer. Its ability to indigenous develop new products including Electric Buses has always helped the company to stay ahead of the curve," said Sondhi. "I look forward to working closely with all the stakeholders and employees to help achieve Ashok Leyland's new Vision to be among the Top 10 CV manufacturers globally," he added.
In his previous role as MD & CEO of JCB lndia and member of JCB's Global Executive team, has led a $1.7 billion business with manufacturing plants at three locations, 8 product categories, 60 products, 65 dealers and over 700 retail outlets. JCB lndia today contributes 48% to group sales and is a global manufacturing hub for the JCB Group with cumulative exports to over 100 countries.
Apart from the India region, he was also responsible for the South East Asian & Pacific businesses for the company and played a significant role in formulating the global product and manufacturing strategy for the group. He has been with JCB for over 13 years.
Prior to JCB, Sondhi was the MD of Tecumseh India, where he served for over 12 years. The initial 10 years of his career were shaped in companies such as Tata Steel and Shriram Honda.
