EV-Native OEMs, Battery Cell & Pack Manufacturing, Charging Infrastructure & EV Ecosystem Leadership
EV & Battery
Executive Search
60+ EV & Battery Placements — with an average 74 Days time-to-placement and a 12-month candidate guarantee.
60+
EV & Battery Placements
74 Days
Avg. Time-to-Placement
90%
Offer Acceptance Rate
12 Months
Candidate Guarantee
Specialisation withinAutomotive & Transportation·Driving the Future of Mobility
Electric vehicles and battery manufacturing together form India's most capital-intensive and strategically-consequential automotive sub-segment. The ecosystem spans EV-native OEMs across two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and buses; battery cell manufacturing (lithium-ion and next-generation chemistries); battery pack assembly and battery-management-systems (BMS); EV-specific components (motors, inverters, power electronics, thermal management); charging-infrastructure operators (CPOs) and charging-hardware OEMs; battery-swapping networks; EV-energy-services operators; and the emerging battery-recycling and second-life-battery sub-segment. Leadership here requires fluency in multi-capital-cycle technology-and-capacity architecture, policy-dependent commercial rhythm (FAME-II, PLI-ACC, state EV policies, GST on EVs), rapid-scale-up manufacturing-and-operating discipline, battery-safety-and-thermal-architecture compliance, and the investor-and-capital-markets cadence of a sub-sector attracting both strategic and financial capital at scale.
Is This Your Situation?
If any of these sound familiar, you're speaking to the right practice.
→EV-native 2W-OEM preparing for an IPO hiring a CFO with scale-up capital-raise stewardship, investor-reporting discipline, and the specific policy-incentive-linked accounting architecture of EV operations.
→PLI-ACC-awarded cell manufacturer hiring a Head of Cell Manufacturing — retained search targeting leaders with global-cell-manufacturing credibility (multi-GWh cell-plant tenure at leading global lithium-ion cell-majors).
→Charging-infrastructure operator scaling a multi-state deployment hiring a Head of Charging Infrastructure / CPO Head with multi-state-deployment credibility, utility-and-DISCOM-relationship stewardship, and capex-and-unit-economics rhythm.
→EV-native PV-OEM preparing to launch its first high-volume model hiring a Head of Manufacturing with EV-native-plant-operating credibility and the specific battery-integration-and-quality-yield discipline of EV PV manufacturing.
Our EV & Battery Track Record
Situation:
A listed EV-native 2W-OEM post-IPO and scaling to cross a meaningful volume milestone needed CEO succession. The brief required scale-up operating credibility, investor-and-capital-markets stewardship, rapid-product-iteration discipline, and the governance rhythm of a listed venture-capital-backed EV-native OEM.
Outcome:
Placed a CEO with prior COO tenure at the EV-native OEM and subsequent head-of-operations tenure at a global EV-native OEM. Search ran 111 days with confidential investor and nomination-committee alignment. Incoming CEO presented an operating-and-product-pipeline plan to the board within 60 days of joining.
Situation:
A PLI-ACC-awarded cell manufacturer scaling its first multi-GWh cell plant needed a Head of Cell Manufacturing with global-cell-manufacturing credibility, cell-chemistry-and-process-engineering fluency, and the specific capex-and-operating rhythm of multi-GWh cell plants.
Outcome:
Placed a Head of Cell Manufacturing with prior head-of-cell-operations tenure at a global cell manufacturer and subsequent head-of-plant tenure at an adjacent global cell manufacturer. Search ran 148 days with a tight global-talent-pool architecture. Cell plant achieved commissioning milestones on schedule within 18 months of the Head's joining.
Situation:
A listed charging-infrastructure operator scaling a multi-state deployment needed a Head of Charging Infrastructure with multi-state-deployment credibility, utility-and-DISCOM-relationship stewardship, charging-hardware-and-software-platform fluency, and capex-and-unit-economics rhythm.
Outcome:
Placed a Head of Charging Infrastructure with prior head-of-EV-charging tenure at a global charging operator and subsequent head-of-business-development tenure at an adjacent Indian charging operator. Engagement included a parallel Head of Network Operations placement. Operator crossed a meaningful deployed-capacity milestone within 20 months of the Head's joining.
All client details anonymised. Specific mandates available for reference under NDA upon request.
Our EV & Battery Practice
Electric vehicles and battery manufacturing together form India's most capital-intensive and strategically-consequential automotive sub-segment. The ecosystem spans EV-native OEMs across two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and buses; battery cell manufacturing (lithium-ion and next-generation chemistries); battery pack assembly and battery-management-systems (BMS); EV-specific components (motors, inverters, power electronics, thermal management); charging-infrastructure operators (CPOs) and charging-hardware OEMs; battery-swapping networks; EV-energy-services operators; and the emerging battery-recycling and second-life-battery sub-segment. Leadership here requires fluency in multi-capital-cycle technology-and-capacity architecture, policy-dependent commercial rhythm (FAME-II, PLI-ACC, state EV policies, GST on EVs), rapid-scale-up manufacturing-and-operating discipline, battery-safety-and-thermal-architecture compliance, and the investor-and-capital-markets cadence of a sub-sector attracting both strategic and financial capital at scale.
We place leaders across EV-native OEMs (listed and venture-backed E2W pure-plays, listed 2W-OEMs' electric arms, domestic PV-OEMs' EV platforms, global-OEM India EV units, and EV-native LCV / E3W / E-bus operators), battery cell manufacturers (PLI-ACC-awarded domestic cell-gigafactory platforms), battery pack and BMS specialists, charging-infrastructure operators (utility-linked CPOs and independent CPO platforms), battery-swapping networks (leading 2W / 3W swap-ecosystem operators), charging-hardware OEMs, and battery-recycling operators. Engagements include CEO / MD searches, Head of Manufacturing and Head of Cell searches, Head of Battery and Head of Powertrain searches, Head of Charging Infrastructure searches, Head of Product and Head of Engineering searches, and CFO placements with scale-up and capital-markets credibility. Every mandate is retained and closed-network.
As a specialist CEO mandates in scale-up operations, our practice also covers CFO and pre-IPO finance leadership, our practice also covers Automotive & Transportation practice overview, and as a source for Energy & Natural Resources leadership.
The EV & Battery Landscape Today
India's EV sub-sector has compounded at an extraordinary pace. Total EV penetration has crossed 7-8% of new-vehicle registrations, with E2W penetration crossing 5-6%, E3W penetration crossing 25% (the highest globally for that segment), and E-bus penetration crossing 6-7% of new-bus registrations. EV-native OEMs have attracted multi-billion-dollar capital pools — recent E2W pure-play IPOs and sustained private-capital investments into listed 2W-OEMs' electric arms and domestic PV-OEMs' EV platforms have reset investor-expectation architecture for the sub-sector. The PLI (Production-Linked Incentive) Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (PLI-ACC) has anchored a domestic cell-manufacturing build-out — 50 GWh of incentivised cell capacity awarded across the PLI-ACC-anchored cell-gigafactory platforms, with parallel build-outs by listed automotive-conglomerate cell arms and specialist battery-cell manufacturers. Charging-infrastructure has compounded with utility-linked CPOs, independent CPO platforms, and state-utility-driven deployments crossing 15,000+ public charging points. Battery-swapping networks have emerged as a distinct sub-segment for 2W and 3W fleet applications. The FAME-II scheme (up to March 2024) and the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (from April 2024) plus state-level EV policies have anchored demand-side incentive architecture. Leadership in the sub-sector requires unusually broad muscle — multi-capital-cycle technology-and-capacity architecture, rapid scale-up manufacturing-and-operating discipline, policy-cycle-sensitivity, battery-safety-and-thermal-architecture compliance, and the investor-cadence of a sub-sector attracting both strategic and financial capital at scale. Compensation has re-rated aggressively with the EV-native-OEM IPO cycle.
Key Leadership Challenges in EV & Battery
CEO / MD succession for EV-native OEMs — leaders with scale-up operating credibility, investor-and-capital-markets stewardship, rapid-product-iteration discipline, and the governance rhythm of venture-capital-backed or listed EV-native OEMs.
Head of Cell / Head of Cell Manufacturing placements — PLI-ACC-awarded cell manufacturers need Cell Heads with global-cell-manufacturing credibility (multi-GWh cell-plant tenure at leading global lithium-ion cell-majors) and the specific capex-and-operating rhythm of multi-GWh cell plants.
Head of Battery / Head of Powertrain searches — EV-native OEMs and battery pack specialists need Battery Heads with cell-to-pack-integration credibility, BMS-and-thermal-architecture discipline, and the specific safety-and-compliance stewardship of EV battery operations.
Head of Charging Infrastructure placements — charging-infrastructure operators need CPO Heads with multi-state-deployment credibility, utility-and-DISCOM-relationship stewardship, and the specific capex-and-unit-economics rhythm of charging infrastructure.
Head of Manufacturing / Head of Plant searches — EV-native OEMs need Manufacturing Heads with battery-integration-and-quality-yield discipline, rapid-scale-up credibility, and the specific safety-architecture rhythm of EV manufacturing.
CFO placements for EV-native-OEMs and cell manufacturers — leaders with scale-up capital-raise stewardship, investor-reporting discipline, and the specific policy-incentive-linked accounting architecture of EV operations.
What We Look For in EV & Battery Leaders
Across mandates, ev & battery leadership tends to cluster into a small set of archetypes. We calibrate each search against the profile your board actually needs — not the one most commonly available.
The EV-Native OEM CEO / Founder-CXO
Executive who has run an EV-native OEM or adjacent scale-up — fluent in scale-up operating credibility, investor-and-capital-markets stewardship, rapid-product-iteration discipline, and the governance rhythm of venture-capital-backed or listed EV-native OEMs. Often a career automotive-or-technology operator with founder-adjacent or CXO-level EV tenure.
The Cell Manufacturing Head
Global-cell-manufacturing leader with multi-GWh cell-plant-operating credibility (tenure at leading global lithium-ion cell-majors), cell-chemistry-and-process-engineering fluency, and the specific capex-and-operating rhythm of cell manufacturing.
The Battery / Powertrain Head
EV-specialist leader with cell-to-pack-integration credibility, BMS-and-thermal-architecture discipline, motor-and-inverter-integration fluency, and the specific safety-and-compliance stewardship of EV battery-and-powertrain operations. Often a career EV-powertrain engineer with subsequent Head of Battery or Head of Powertrain leadership.
The Charging Infrastructure / CPO Head
Infrastructure-operator leader with multi-state-deployment credibility, utility-and-DISCOM-relationship stewardship, charging-hardware-and-software-platform fluency, and the specific capex-and-unit-economics rhythm of charging infrastructure. Fluent in AC-and-DC-charging deployment cadence.
The EV Manufacturing / Plant Head
Operations-led leader with battery-integration-and-quality-yield discipline, rapid-scale-up credibility, and the specific safety-architecture rhythm of EV manufacturing. Fluent in battery-pack assembly, vehicle-final-assembly, and the specific fire-and-thermal-safety architecture of EV plants.
The EV-Sector CFO
Finance leader with scale-up capital-raise stewardship, investor-reporting discipline, policy-incentive-linked accounting architecture, and the specific IPO-readiness-and-public-markets cadence of a scale-up EV-native OEM or cell manufacturer. Fluent in venture-capital and growth-equity investor-cadence.
Regulatory & Compensation Context
Regulatory Backdrop
EV-and-battery leadership operates within a policy-and-compliance envelope that is unusually dense and rapidly-evolving. The FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) scheme — FAME-II ran until March 2024 with the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) and successor schemes governing demand-side incentive architecture. The PLI-ACC (Advanced Chemistry Cell) Scheme under the Ministry of Heavy Industries anchors cell-manufacturing incentive architecture with specific domestic-value-addition and capacity milestones. The PLI Scheme for Automobile and Auto Components (advanced automotive technologies focus) governs EV-specific product-and-capacity obligations. State EV Policies (Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and others) govern state-level demand-and-supply-side incentive architecture. AIS-156 (battery safety standards, revised 2022-23 after the 2022 E2W fire incidents) governs battery-pack-level safety compliance. AIS-038, AIS-039, AIS-041, AIS-048 govern EV-specific homologation. BS-VI and CAFE norms apply to the non-EV portion of OEM fleets. GST on EVs is 5% (versus 18%/28% on ICE) with compensation-cess exemption — a material commercial incentive. Customs and FTP rules — CBU-CKD-SKD duty architecture for EVs and batteries, import-duty architecture for cells (the Union Budget 2024-25 adjusted lithium-ion cell import duty) — shape the import-versus-manufacture operating rhythm. The Battery Waste Management Rules 2022 govern EV battery end-of-life and EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) obligations. The CEA (Central Electricity Authority) and DISCOM rules govern charging-infrastructure operations. The Energy Conservation Act 2001 and the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) provide the policy backbone. The Companies Act 2013 and SEBI LODR apply to listed EV operators with specific related-party-transaction, capex-capitalisation, and policy-incentive-accounting disclosure obligations. Candidates for senior roles are evaluated on their AIS-156 and FAME / PLI-ACC operating history, state-EV-policy familiarity, and the compliance-posture they have run in prior operating roles.
Compensation Architecture
EV-and-battery leadership compensation has re-rated aggressively — the sub-sector's investor-capital availability and founder-or-CXO-equity architecture have together compounded the competitive bid. CEOs / MDs of listed EV-native OEMs command ₹10-30 crore total compensation (fixed ₹5-15 crore plus annual bonus and meaningful ESOPs / performance-share units, plus founder-equity for founder-CXOs). CEOs of pre-IPO EV-native OEMs command ₹6-15 crore fixed with meaningful pre-IPO ESOP allocations (typically 0.5-3% of company equity at entry-stage hiring, vesting over 3-4 years). Heads of Cell / Cell Manufacturing at PLI-ACC cell manufacturers command ₹6-15 crore fixed with meaningful LTI — the global-cell-manufacturing-tenure candidates command the upper band. Heads of Battery / Powertrain command ₹4-10 crore fixed with meaningful LTI. Heads of Charging Infrastructure / CPO Heads command ₹3-8 crore fixed with deployment-and-utilisation-linked variable. Heads of Manufacturing / Plant at EV-OEMs and cell plants command ₹3-8 crore fixed. Heads of Battery Swapping command ₹3-6 crore fixed. CFOs of listed and pre-IPO EV-native OEMs command ₹5-15 crore fixed with meaningful LTI — the IPO-readiness-credibility CFOs command the upper band. Heads of IR at listed and pre-IPO EV operators command ₹3-7 crore fixed. Independent directors on listed EV-native-OEM boards are compensated at ₹30-70 lakh per year in cash plus committee-chair premiums and deferred-equity at select operators. Retention architecture is the single most acute conversation in the sub-sector — the competitive bid is cross-segment (EV-native OEMs, cell manufacturers, charging operators, global EV-OEMs scaling India teams) and cross-capital (venture capital, growth equity, listed platform, strategic).
Roles We Typically Place
Why Gladwin International Leadership Advisors for EV & Battery
CEO / MD searches for EV-native OEMs across E2W, E3W, EPV, ECV, and E-bus segments.
Head of Cell, Head of Cell Manufacturing, and Head of Cell R&D placements for PLI-ACC cell manufacturers.
Head of Battery, Head of Powertrain, Head of BMS, and Head of Thermal Architecture searches.
Head of Charging Infrastructure, Head of Network Operations, and Head of Charging Technology placements for CPOs.
Head of Battery Swapping and Head of Swap Network searches for swapping-network operators.
Head of Manufacturing, Head of Plant, and Head of Quality for EV-native OEMs and battery pack operators.
CFO and Head of IR placements for listed and pre-IPO EV-native OEMs and cell manufacturers.
Organisations We Serve
EV-native OEMs across E2W (listed and venture-backed pure-play electric 2W platforms alongside listed 2W-OEMs' E2W arms)
EV-native OEMs across EPV and ECV (domestic PV-OEMs' EV arms and global-OEM India EV units)
EV-native OEMs across E3W and ELCV (cargo and passenger E3W platforms and ELCV specialists)
E-bus OEMs (listed domestic electric-bus specialists and bus-manufacturer EV arms)
Battery cell manufacturers (PLI-ACC-awarded domestic cell-gigafactory platforms)
Charging-infrastructure operators and charging-hardware OEMs
Battery-swapping networks (leading 2W / 3W battery-swap-ecosystem operators)
Battery-recycling operators and second-life-battery specialists
EV & Battery leaders assessed on the Automotive “ORBIT” framework
Seven dimensions calibrated for automotive and mobility leadership. Dimensions are calibrated for ev & battery mandates where relevant.
Parent Practice
Return to Automotive & Transportation
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