Mercedes Benz appoints Vyankatesh Kulkarni as Executive Director and Head of Operations, India, Auto News, ET Auto

New Delhi: The country’s largest luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz on Monday appointed Vyankatesh Kulkarni as the Executive Director and Head of Operations, India, effective from 1 June 2022. Vyankatesh Kulkarni comes in place of Piyush Arora, who moved to Skoda Auto Volkswagen India to be its managing director.

Vyankatesh will be responsible for the production and procurement-related functions of Mercedes-Benz India, including the company’s transformation journey into electrification, digitization, and technology-driven smart manufacturing prowess of the future, stated a company release.

Vyankatesh joined Mercedes Benz Research and Development India Pvt. Ltd. in 2008 and was instrumental in strategizing and setting up the ‘International tech-hub for Manufacturing and Supply Chain.

Prior to Mercedes Benz Research & Development India, Vyankatesh worked with leading automotive companies such as TATA Motors-Technologies and Maruti Suzuki India, the release added.

Announcing this key leadership appointment, Martin Schwenk, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said, “Vyankatesh has successfully handled many important global projects at MBRDI in the areas of planning, simulations, engineering, quality, and supply chain. At Mercedes-Benz India, he will build on the strong localization competencies of our world-class manufacturing facility and related resources.”

Schwenk believes that with this new appointment Vyankatesh will play a pivotal role in transforming the manufacturing ecosystem by undertaking the company’s transitional journey into electrification and technology-driven ‘Smart Manufacturing’ and Industry 4.0 practices of the future.

Vyankatesh will bring over 20 years of experience in technology, planning, manufacturing operations and supply chain.

Also Read:

Rajupalepu succeeds Karim Lalani who has taken up a new role as the Chief Technology Officer – North America ICT and Digital within the Stellantis Group.

Mark is a board member of First Transit, a private operator of Public Transit, and private shuttles in North America (EQT), and is a board member of SAFE (Securing America’s Future Energy), stated a media release. He is also advising NextGear Ventures, a mobility accelerator working with automotive OEMs, autonomous technology companies, and transit operators, it added.