EVP – Strategy and Portfolio — Subscription-Mobility Portfolio

The mandate

This portfolio sells access rather than ownership: monthly car subscriptions for households, managed vehicle plans for employers and flexible leases for professional drivers. Each proposition has attracted demand, yet the combined portfolio consumes more fleet capital and operating attention than its current returns justify. Vehicles migrate between channels, and the operating model must now align capacity with demand more precisely. The strategy question is no longer whether subscription mobility is promising; it is which forms can earn trust and return capital at scale.

The EVP will lead portfolio choices across approximately 1,125 employees and partners, working through business heads rather than operating every channel directly. The remit covers strategic planning, investment cases, partnerships, market intelligence and portfolio performance. It includes authority to recommend closure, consolidation or redesign, and to convene the owners of customer, fleet and driver outcomes around one proposition-level scorecard.

The chief executive wants an executive who treats driver trust as a strategic input, not an operational afterthought. A low headline subscription price can be supported by harsh mileage charges, uncertain vehicle swaps or opaque partner deductions; none produces a durable franchise. Equally, generous terms unsupported by utilisation merely defer failure. Choices must state who bears demand, maintenance and residual-value risk, and why.

Why this seat is open

This urgent new seat follows a board portfolio review that found strategy fragmented across commercial teams and annual budgeting. No individual currently has the authority to compare all propositions on common economics or stop investment between planning cycles. Capital decisions for the coming fleet season begin within weeks, so distributed ownership is no longer acceptable.

What you will own

• Define the strategic role of household, corporate and professional-driver subscriptions, including the customer problem, right-to-win and economic boundary of each.
• Build a comparable portfolio model spanning acquisition cost, utilisation, maintenance, churn, residual value, credit loss and partner earnings.
• Recommend a capital sequence by city and proposition, identifying activities to scale, test, partner, harvest or close.
• Introduce pre-mortems and exit criteria into investment papers; optimism about demand must not conceal irreversible fleet commitments.
• Design partnership choices with manufacturers, financiers, charging networks and employers, specifying which risks transfer and which remain.
• Establish a driver-policy review using representative income and churn evidence before changes to rental, deductions or work allocation.
• Translate the portfolio thesis into workforce and technology consequences so that the strategy can be implemented by named business leaders.
• Maintain an external view of regulation, used-vehicle markets and competitive capital without turning the function into a presentation factory.

The first 12 months

During the first 90 days, reconstruct the economics of at least four mature cohorts, interview customers who cancelled and professional drivers who returned vehicles, and reconcile inventory location with contracted demand. The executive committee should receive a decision paper on the next fleet purchase, accompanied by delay, lease and partnership alternatives. Establish an agreed definition of active utilisation and prohibit teams from presenting incompatible versions.

By month six, implement the portfolio classification and reallocate management capacity accordingly. Launch only those experiments with a finite capital envelope and explicit learning question. Conclude at least one partnership that lowers ownership or residual exposure without compromising service. For any proposition being reduced, protect customers and drivers through a published transition rather than abrupt withdrawal.

At the first anniversary, aim to improve fleet utilisation by eight percentage points, reduce capital committed per active subscriber by 15% and lift cohort contribution by 20%. Customer cancellation linked to vehicle availability should halve, while partner complaints about contract changes should fall by 40%. At least ₹250 crore of proposed capital should have been redirected, staged or avoided through portfolio evidence.

What the board will measure

• Quality of actual capital choices and their timing, not the elegance of the strategic plan.
• Cohort returns reconciled to finance and stable enough to support decisions across three quarters.
• Clear strategic boundaries for each proposition, including what the company will decline to do.
• Fair transition outcomes for customers, drivers and employees affected by contraction or redesign.
• Partnerships that change risk-adjusted economics rather than merely add logos or distribution announcements.
• Business-head ownership of the chosen thesis after the strategy team leaves the room.

The person

You have 22–28 years of experience and currently lead strategy, portfolio, corporate development or a business with meaningful capital allocation. You have made choices in a fleet, subscription, rental, logistics or asset-as-a-service model where utilisation and residual value mattered. Pure advisory experience is insufficient unless followed by accountable implementation inside an operating enterprise.

Your work should have influenced at least ₹3,200 crore of revenue, bookings or deployed capital and a perimeter of 800 or more employees and partners. You can describe an investment you stopped, the stakeholders who disagreed and what the subsequent evidence showed. You understand customer research, contract economics and board governance, and can connect them without substituting a framework for judgement.

The position is hybrid in Bengaluru, with regular presence expected for portfolio forums and travel to operating markets. The successful executive will be judged on decisions owned by business leaders, not on building a large central team.

Compensation and terms

The package comprises ₹2.2–3.0 crore fixed plus performance variable, with assessment against capital decisions, cohort returns, trust indicators and implementation. This permanent hybrid appointment is based in Bengaluru and reports to the Group Chief Executive or named executive sponsor. Role scope, notice and any deferred awards will be addressed during diligence; notice up to six months can be supported.

Confidentiality

Specific propositions, fleet partners and cohort results remain confidential until mutual relevance and conflicts are established. Published figures are rounded and the business description blends characteristics to defeat identification. Applicants should evaluate the work on its merits and refrain from approaching likely manufacturers, financiers or driver communities.