Hitachi appoints Bharat Kaushal as MD of India operations

Japanese multinational conglomerate Hitachi today announced the appointment of Bharat Kaushal as the Managing Director of its Indian operations.
Kaushal, currently Chairman of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) here, will be the first Indian to spearhead Hitachi India's operations, the company said in a statement.
He succeeds Kojin Nakakita, who has been elevated as Chairman of Hitachi India Pvt Ltd and Hitachi Asia Ltd.
The new appointment will be effective from June 1, 2017.
Kaushal, who was also the first non-Japanese to be appointed as SMBC India's CEO, will focus on promoting Hitachi's Social Innovation Business in his new role.

"The management at Hitachi unanimously believed in the decision of appointing an Indian to lead the company's ambitious and challenging mandate.

"India is a strategic and emerging market for us. Bharat is ideally credentialed to drive Hitachi's Social Innovation Business in India," Nakakita said.
Kaushal, a member of the Indo-Japan Task Force, has over 25 years of industry experience in macroeconomic policy, government advisory, project finance, debt restructuring and mergers and acquisitions. He was with SMBC for 20 years.
Hitachi India was declared the fifth regional headquarter for Hitachi in 2011. Other key management areas outside Japan are China, Southeast Asia, Europe and US.

Hitachi Group operates in different verticals in India which includes information and communication systems, industrial systems like water, oil and gas supply and management, transportation and urban development systems.