India’s largest two-wheeler maker, Pawan Munjal-promoted Hero MotoCorp, is grooming a pool of internal talent in key functions to take on leadership roles in the future as part of a well laid-out succession plan at the global auto major.
Several people associated in various capacities with Hero MotoCorp told ET, Hero is looking at nurturing talent within the company instead of looking elsewhere to fill in leadership positions going ahead.
“This is a good strategy to have. It provides growth opportunities to internal people, while at the same time helping retain the cultural ethos and DNA of the company. It keeps Hero future-ready, nimble and progressive, while ensuring growth for employees internally”, said a senior executive at a global executive coaching firm.
He added, Hero MotoCorp will now increasingly look at nurturing and promoting more internal talent to take on leadership roles.
Hero MotoCorp Thursday announced the appointment of Niranjan Gupta as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, effective from May 1, 2023. The sudden decision came as a surprise to many within the company and outside.
Gupta is currently is the chief financial officer (CFO), Head – Strategy and M&A, at the company. Pawan Munjal will continue as Executive Chairman and Whole-time Director on the Board.
The search firm executive said, “If you look at all the key functions at Hero MotoCorp such as sales and marketing, human resources, plant operations, R&D, Information Technology; these have always been headed by proven professionals. The biggest difference now is that the company is grooming internal talent to get them ready for leadership roles without having to look elsewhere.”
For one, the current head of sales of the India business, Ashutosh Varma, has come up through the internal process, having served in various sales functions across different zones. Internal talents are also heading other key functions such as Global Business (GB), Investor Relations and Global Product Planning. Sanjay Bhan, the head of GB, has risen up the ranks, having served in multiple roles across sales, marketing and parts, across different geographies in India.
Similarly, Vikram Kasbekar is now the Head of Global Product Planning, has earlier been in several key roles such as Chief Technology Officer and head of operations. Kasbekar also sits on the board of the company.
Hero MotoCorp is also running a “Women in Leadership” program to train and nurture more women to take up senior leadership roles.
The timing of the transition to Gupta is significant, according to industry sources, as the company has several key product launches lined up. Hero MotoCorp has scheduled for launch new products in both premium ICE and EV segments this year and plans to expand business in new geographies such as Europe.
“Hero MotoCorp is at the cusp of a growth phase, with nearly a dozen new products – including premium motorcycles and scooters scheduled for launch this fiscal. The company is also now in an expansion mode in its electric vehicle journey, with VIDA VI. Pawan (Munjal) is handing over the operations of the company at a perfect juncture for Niranjan (Gupta). Moreover, it is bold of him to choose someone from within the company and not bring in an outsider,” a senior industry veteran and a long-term supplier of components to Hero, who is privy to the company’s plans, told ET on condition of anonymity.
Hero MotoCorp recently forayed into the electric segment with a new brand VIDA. The first product under the new brand, VIDA V1, has started selling recently and is currently available in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Jaipur. The company aims to move to more cities in the country and the mature markets in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
“Why now? Therein lies the answer. The timing is the key. Pawan has chosen absolutely the perfect time to appoint a new CEO. He has nothing more left to prove to anyone,” a veteran industry professional, who has been associated with Hero for close to two decades, told ET on condition of anonymity.
“Why now? Therein lies the answer. The timing is the key. Pawan has chosen absolutely the perfect time to appoint a new CEO. He has nothing more left to prove to anyone,” a veteran industry professional, who has been associated with Hero for close to two decades, told ET on condition of anonymity.
“Back in 2011, there were a lot of questions over the future of the company when Hero took the bold decision to buy out the stakes of Honda in the erstwhile joint venture Hero Honda and commenced its solo journey. More than a decade down the road, Pawan has proven those critics wrong by not only leading the company from the front to maintain its market leadership; he has also expanded the Hero presence to over 50 countries in sales and brand presence across Asia, Africa, Middle East, South and Central America, Europe and the US,” he added.
Hero MotoCorp Saturday announced sales of more than 5.3 million units for FY23, growing by 8% for the year over the previous fiscal. In the month of May, Hero MotoCorp sold over 5.18 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters – a robust growth of 15% over the corresponding month in 2022, although the company acknowledges that it came over a small base on account of the pandemic in the previous year. To be sure, the company’s market share has been under pressure amid increased competition, but plans are afoot to regain lost ground across both conventional as well as electric vehicle segments.
“Being the astute golfer that he is, Pawan has always had a sense of great timing and he chose the end of March and the financial year – to announce his successor. There’s a lot said about Pawan on global expansion and ensuring the market leadership, but most of all, I would credit him for building up an enviable global research and development (R&D) ecosystem,” the CEO of a leading two-wheeler OEM of the country told ET on condition that he would not be identified.
Source: Economic Times
