Tata Motors continues to face top-level exits; CTO Timothy Leverton quits

Another top exit after CV head Ravindra Pisharody resigned in June

Within months of losing its commercial vehicle (CV) head Ravindra Pisharody, automobile maker Tata Motors has seen another top-level exit, with Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Timothy Leverton on Monday putting in his papers, citing personal reasons. Leverton plans to return to the UK.

Earlier, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Guenter Butschek had in January decided to reduce the company’s leadership layers to speed up the decision-making process. However, while announcing its turnaround plan in August, Tata Motors had revealed that its executives were not happy with the decision, so their positions would be retrieved.

There had also been rumours of a tussle between Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran and Butschek. The chairman had, however, clarified at the company’s annual general meeting that he shared a good rapport with Butschek.

Since Butschek’s appointment as CEO, the overall business environment has not been very conducive for Tata Motors. While the company saw a drop in its share of the CV market from 51.9 per cent in 2015-16 to 49.2 per cent in 2016-17, its total income from operations in the January-March quarter of FY17 fell to Rs 10,375.25 crore from Rs 11,434.91 crore a year earlier – a decline of 9.26 per cent. The company made a loss of Rs 467 crore on a standalone basis during the quarter.