CEO of the year: How Vinod K Dasari engineered Ashok Leyland's success

Dasari feels he has laid the foundations for the company's future growth and his job at the company is done

A conference room on the ninth floor of Ashok Leyland’s headquarters in Chennai has a six-year-old poster stating the company’s vision to be in the global top 10 in medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M & HCV - trucks) and in the global top five in M & HCV buses in volume terms. At the bottom is a hand-written addition dated January 10, 2019 — “Mission Accomplished” — signed by Vinod K Dasari. This would be the best parting gift the commercial vehicles man of the southern region will leave behind when he steps down as the managing director and chief executive officer of the company on March 31, 2019 after a 14-year stint in the company, and about eight years as the MD. Ashok Leyland sold 101,990 units in 2011-12 (the first year of Dasari’s stewardship), and by 2017-18 this had climbed to 174,873 units. The company’s profit over this period nearly tripled, from Rs 565 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 1,760 crore in FY18.

Around five years ago, the commercial vehicles business was in the doldrums and at that time, Dasari drafted the growth strategy. He divided the businesses into three to address the cyclical challenges in CVs, with the first being the core business in which Ashok Leyland has got world-class Euro VI modular vehicles as well as electric vehicles coming.

He also focused on light commercial vehicles (LCV), and also bought over the stake of joint-venture partner Nissan in the LCV JV in 2016. Today, Ashok Leyland’s LCV business and the LCV subsidiary are both profitable.

Third, Dasari also built a strong intermediate commercial vehicle (ICV) franchise, which led to a big increase in market share. Market share was 12-14 per cent four years ago, and has risen to about 25 per cent.

Under Dasari’s leadership, Ashok Leyland also prepared a plan to monetise its digital initiative called ServiceMandi, which is now valued at around Rs 500-1,000 crore. ServiceMandi is a digital mobile app-based platform for commercial vehicles, which helps trucks and buses locate the nearest local mechanic to avail of services for breakdown, repair or maintenance.

The defence and power solutions segments have also gained traction. The company has launched several frontier businesses: The electric vehicles business, the customer solutions business, and digital solutions, which are all doing exceptionally well.

At present, the contribution of medium and heavy commercial vehicles to Ashok Leyland’s total output is less than 60 per cent, compared to 80 per cent a few years ago, as other businesses have grown. Dasari’s aggressive production expansion, marketing initiatives and dealership expansion have turned the company into a strong pan-India player. The company’s market share in the northern and eastern regions of the country, which traditionally used to be weaker markets for the company, are now its fastest-growing markets, and half of the firm’s production capacity now is in the north.

“Under his leadership, the company has seen tremendous all-round growth in the past five years. Most importantly, Dasari has built very strong teams. I am confident the growth momentum of Ashok Leyland will continue,” said company Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja, after Dasari’s surprise resignation after he decided to pursue personal interests and seek new pastures.

Besides building future-ready products, Dasari is a strong believer in team-building and empowerment. He quotes US World War II General George S Patton, who had said, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” Dasari says, “I live by this motto.”

“While I tell my team to figure out solutions on their own, the underlying message is to work on Indian innovation, which goes beyond the oft-repeated jugaad,” he adds.

Dasari has led from the front. A day before the Deming evaluation process recently, Dasari visited the company's Hosur plant. Expecting queries from the MD on the level of preparedness, he surprised the plant head by challenging him to a game of basketball, easing the tension for the team.

As Dasari hangs up his boots at Ashok Leyland, he feels he has laid the foundations for the company’s future growth and his job at the company is done.