Managing Director – India Platform — Export Manufacturing Platform

The mandate

The India platform manufactures engineered products for customers across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It is consolidating a legacy footprint to improve equipment density, engineering access and overhead, but transfers have moved more slowly than the financial plan. Customer source approvals, export documentation, tooling ownership, process capability and receiving-plant skills differ by product. Some programmes have accumulated buffer stock that protects delivery while hiding unresolved transfer readiness.

The Managing Director will own the India P&L and approximately 3,050 employees and material partners across plants, engineering, quality, supply chain, commercial, finance and shared services. Group product leaders retain global road maps; the appointee owns Indian execution, capital, customer commitments and leadership. They may resequence or stop a transfer where evidence fails, but must also challenge local arguments that preserve uneconomic sites without a valid customer or capability reason.

Footprint value depends on the full network. A receiving plant can show lower conversion cost yet require premium freight, duplicated inspection or excessive work-in-progress until capability stabilises. The director must include transition inventory, under-absorption, customer validation and people movement, then show when savings reach cash.

Export control and origin require disciplined configuration. Moving work can change preferential origin, licence, duty, technical-data access or approved supplier status. Commercial teams must not promise a transfer date before these conditions and customer approvals are explicit.

The platform also needs a future, not merely fewer buildings. Consolidation should create product-family centres, common engineering methods and a talent pipeline capable of winning export programmes on quality, lead time and innovation.

Closing or shrinking a site leaves environmental, asset, lease and community obligations after production moves. The Managing Director will require a funded closure plan covering hazardous material, permits, utilities, customer property, tooling, records and contractor demobilisation. Synergy cannot be claimed by moving these liabilities outside the operating budget, and land or equipment proceeds must remain downside-tested until realised.

Why this seat is open

The incumbent left unexpectedly after accepting an international role, making the replacement urgent. Interim group oversight protects current transfer and customer decisions but has no mandate to redesign the India leadership team. The board seeks a permanent executive before the next site and capital gates while retaining full technical and reputation diligence.

What you will own

• Set the India platform and footprint thesis by product family, capability, customer obligation and export economics.
• Govern every transfer through tooling, process, skills, quality, customer, trade, inventory and delivery evidence.
• Take accountability for country P&L, cash, capital and finance-validated consolidation value.
• Maintain transparent customer communication and escalation throughout qualification and source change.
• Decide which capability remains local, moves, partners or exits, including specialist suppliers and laboratories.
• Lead workforce consultation, transfer, reskilling and responsible site transition.
• Strengthen export, customs, sanctions and technical-data controls within daily operations.
• Build an India leadership team with succession and authority across plants and functions.

The first 12 months

In 90 days, review each major transfer, walk source and receiving processes, meet priority customers and reconcile the synergy and inventory case. Classify moves as ready, recoverable, resequence or stop. Establish one transfer gate and address immediate delivery, quality or employee risk.

By month six, complete the first priority moves with validated capability, customer approval and controlled buffer reduction. Decide the future of the most exposed site and product families, align capital and appoint the target leadership team. Transfer governance should report cash and customer evidence, not activity milestones alone.

At twelve months, complete at least 90% of due transfer milestones, retain 95% of strategic export revenue and improve on-time delivery by 15 points. Achieve the approved first-year footprint savings within 10%, reduce transition inventory by 25% after qualification and maintain zero material export-control breach. Critical-skill attrition should remain below 8%, with successors named for every plant head.

What the board will measure

• Customer-approved transfers completed without delivery or quality surprise.
• Cash value net of buffer, duplicated cost, transition and people expenditure.
• Export, origin and technical-data compliance through source change.
• Product-family capability and future bid competitiveness in the retained network.
• Workforce transition, critical-skill retention and industrial-relations quality.
• Country P&L, cash and leadership accountability.

The person

You have 28+ years in export manufacturing, automotive, industrial equipment, electronics or another customer-qualified network and currently lead a country platform, division or multi-plant business. You have closed or consolidated sites while maintaining overseas customer approvals and trade compliance.

Your experience should include more than ₹5,000 crore of revenue, assets or order portfolio and at least 2,200 employees and partners. You can quantify synergy after transition cost, explain a transfer you delayed and show how origin or customer rules changed the case. The board will test industrial-relations judgement and personal customer credibility.

This hybrid Pune role demands substantial plant and international customer travel and reports to the Group Chief Executive and board.

Compensation and terms

The fixed package is ₹5.0–7.5 crore plus performance variable and long-term incentive tied to P&L, transfer, cash, delivery, compliance and leadership. This permanent hybrid appointment is centred in Pune with extensive travel and reports to the Group Chief Executive and board. Notice up to six months can be considered against interim controls.

Confidentiality

The platform, customers, countries, sites and transfer programme remain confidential. Further information follows reciprocal relevance, conflict review and signed confidentiality. Figures and situations are blended to prevent identification; applicants must not approach customers, authorities, suppliers or employees.