Sudarshan Venu appointed joint MD of TVS Motor

Lakshmi Venu appointed as additional non-executive director

Three days after his marriage, Sudarshan Venu, the  son of TVS Motor’s chairman and managing director, Venu Srinivasan, has got a notable gift from his company – a promotion. He is now joint managing director, while his sister, Lakshmi, has been appointed additional non-executive director of the company. Both appointments are effective from Wednesday. TVS Motor has been steadily increasing its market share, as well as the volume of its business, the company stated.

Sudarshan Venu, as whole-time director, has been actively participating in the activities of the company and has considerably increased his engagement in and contribution to the progress of the company, the statement added.

Lakshmi Venu has been appointed an additional non-executive director, the statement noted. Lakshmi is the daughter of Venu Srinivasan and Mallika Srinivasan (chief of TAFE) and daughter-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy. Sudarshan will be functioning under the guidance of Venu Srinivasan and Lakshmi will serve as the woman director on the board in compliance with the provisions of the Companies Act and the Listing Agreement.

Sudarshan completed Jerome Fisher Programme in Management & Technological from the University of Pennsylvania with honours in 2010. He also pursued a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He completed his Masters in International Technology Management the Warwick Manufacturing Group, an academic department at the University of Warwick in the UK.

While pursuing his masters, Sudarshan underwent training in the die-casting division of Sundaram Clayton and TVS Motor, now the fourth-largest two-wheeler company in the country.

Sudarshan came to limelight in 2011, when TVS Motor lost its third position to Honda, during the launch of new 125-cc bike Phoenix. This launch was actually seen as an unofficial announcement of succession plan. During the event, Sudarshan drove the Phoenix and waited on the stage to be photographed before his father and the rest of the management joined him. Till then, Venu Srinivasan used to unveil new products.

In an interview, Sudarshan had said he was associated with the product right from the beginning. “We have a challenge on our hands, due to lack of products in the right spot,” he was quoted as saying.

He was appointment as a whole-time director of the company for a period of five years commencing from February 2013.