Chief Executive Officer — Passenger-Vehicle Business

The mandate

The board has concluded that incremental adjustment will not resolve portfolio reset after a board-led strategic review within a listed integrated automotive and components manufacturer. The immediate arena is the passenger-vehicle business during an electric-vehicle portfolio shift. For mandate 251, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Executive Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹9,000 crore in regional revenue and programme portfolio, with activity spanning several passenger-vehicle business customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Executive Officer Automotive remit carries direct influence over roughly 575 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The board and its investment committee want a Chief Executive Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the passenger-vehicle business. The Chief Executive Officer Automotive seat must resolve an electric-vehicle portfolio shift, while preserving the underlying strengths of the passenger-vehicle business. For mandate 251, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Executive Officer’s first year on the passenger-vehicle business is expected to end with enterprise value, cash conversion and leadership credibility. In mandate 251, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the Chief Executive Officer — Passenger-Vehicle Business seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the passenger-vehicle business, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because an electric-vehicle portfolio shift cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Executive Officer value-creation thesis for the passenger-vehicle business, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹9,000 crore in regional revenue and programme portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Executive Officer Automotive organisation of about 575 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the passenger-vehicle business economics and execution constraints created by an electric-vehicle portfolio shift, with Chief Executive Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Executive Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the passenger-vehicle business; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Show personal ownership of a whole-enterprise choice involving capital, customers and leadership, not merely sponsorship of a functional programme in mandate 251.
• Build the Chief Executive Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the passenger-vehicle business, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Automotive organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the passenger-vehicle business baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to portfolio reset after a board-led strategic review, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Executive Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the passenger-vehicle business, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable passenger-vehicle business trend against enterprise value, cash conversion and leadership credibility, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Executive Officer’s agreed first-year passenger-vehicle business value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Executive Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the passenger-vehicle business’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Executive Officer mandate’s highest-priority passenger-vehicle business risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical passenger-vehicle business talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Executive Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Executive Officer-owned improvement in the passenger-vehicle business operating constraint behind an electric-vehicle portfolio shift, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 251: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Executive Officer, Business CEO or Group President in a listed Automotive or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the passenger-vehicle business, your Chief Executive Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from automotive, industrial manufacturing, mobility, components or engineering services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Executive Officer brief.

As a Chief Executive Officer candidate, you bring 28+ years of progressive Automotive or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 28-plus experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹5,200 crore and led an organisation of at least 450 people.

For mandate 251, the board wants two transitions: a difficult passenger-vehicle business portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during an electric-vehicle portfolio shift. As the prospective Chief Executive Officer for this passenger-vehicle business, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 251 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Executive Officer role in Automotive is based in Pune; relocation is expected, although a structured weekly commute may be considered during the first quarter.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Executive Officer, Business CEO or Group President, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Automotive governance forum.
• Proven Chief Executive Officer ownership of at least ₹5,200 crore and leadership of no fewer than 450 employees in a comparable passenger-vehicle business context.
• One completed Automotive or adjacent-sector example of portfolio reset after a board-led strategic review with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from automotive, industrial manufacturing, mobility, components or engineering services; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Executive Officer-level passenger-vehicle business consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Pune location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 251.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Executive Officer package is ₹5.0–7.5 crore fixed + performance variable and LTI, calibrated to the final passenger-vehicle business scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 251 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Executive Officer appointment in Pune, centred on the passenger-vehicle business, offers regular exposure to the board and its investment committee. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 251.

Confidentiality

The organisation will be identified only after reciprocal interest and a confidentiality undertaking for mandate 251. The market, scale and situation in this brief are intentionally composite and are not a coded description of a named enterprise for mandate 251.