Thimmaiah NP, MD & CEO, Meritor India, is responsible for Meritor and its joint venture activities in India including - Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems, Automotive Axle Ltd, the India Technical Center and Global Sourcing Office. And he sees this opportunity to create an environment that inspires continuous improvement across all business areas, is what drives him.
"Being responsible for complete oversight of the businesses' different facets, driving the organisation towards growth and world class manufacturing capability, and delighting the customer excites me. My biggest strength is being able to span the often polar opposites of strategy and execution. I always look for the next level of performance and drive the organisation towards it. I love doing new things and I enjoy taking calculated risks.
"I believe that people make the difference and having the right people who understand what is good for the organisation and work towards organisational betterment are key factors for success. At the end of the day I want to look back and see what have I contributed. Have I created something lasting and of value for my people and the organisation and industry; am I leaving behind a strong legacy?" he says.
Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems and Automotive Axles Ltd are joint ventures between Meritor Inc. USA and the Kalyani Group, Pune. It has been the largest independent rear axle drive manufacturer in India for close to 35 years. After more than two years of downturn the market is looking up since the last few quarters. "We continue to grow significantly faster than the market with our new product development and new business vertical strategies.
"The last one year was exciting for us as we continued to launch many new products and will continue to ramp up this year as well," Thimmaiah says. The company's annual turnover is approximately Rs1,000 crore. "We have an ambitious target to grow multifold by 2020, the strategy and execution plan are in place to grow the business exponentially," he adds.
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