Tata Motors announces interim leadership under Mistry

To deliver on strategy that late Slym was executing

Following the sudden demise of Tata Motors’ Managing Director Karl Slym, the company on Thursday said, as an interim measure, a corporate steering committee (CSC) would provide oversight for strategy and key aspects of operations.

Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry will chair the steering committee. It will comprise all current members of the company’s executive committee — Ravindra Pisharody,  Satish B Borwankar, C Ramakrishnan, T A Leverton, Ranjit Yadav, Mamillapalle Venkatram, Ankush Arora and Rajesh Bagga. Mistry will also chair the new product design and engineering review meetings.

In connection with these changes, Mistry, in a statement, said, “I was deeply saddened by the tragic and untimely demise of Karl Slym, managing director of Tata Motors.  To ensure leadership continuity, the Board of Tata Motors has constituted a corporate steering committee to oversee strategy execution and key aspects of operations; the corporate steering committee will be chaired by me, and will include the current executive committee members. The Board expects to appoint a managing director in due course.”

The statement added, “We will ensure the company vigorously pursues and delivers on the strategy which had already been defined and which Karl was executing. As the company looks ahead, it is gratifying to note that several new product launches have taken place recently and a robust pipeline is being showcased at this year’s Auto Expo. I am confident that Tata Motors will sustain its strong leadership in the Indian automobile industry.”

Slym, a British national, was hired in 2012 to revive Tata’s flagging sales and market share in India. He died after falling from a hotel room in Bangkok on January 26 where he had gone to attend a board meeting of the company’s Thai arm.     

OTHER MEMBERS INCLUDE

* Ravindra Pisharody
* Satish B Borwankar
* C Ramakrishnan
* T A Leverton
* Ranjit Yadav
* Mamillapalle Venkatram
* Ankush Arora
* Rajesh Bagga