Chief Marketing Officer — Passenger-Vehicle Business

The mandate

The chair and executive committee are aligned that the immediate priority is weak differentiation and inefficient customer acquisition within a institutionally backed integrated automotive and components manufacturer. The immediate arena is the passenger-vehicle business during a software-defined vehicle transition. For mandate 269, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Marketing Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹11,650 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 Marketing Officer Automotive remit carries direct influence over roughly 2,300 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The board and its investment committee want a Chief Marketing Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the passenger-vehicle business. The Chief Marketing Officer Automotive seat must resolve a software-defined vehicle transition, while preserving the underlying strengths of the passenger-vehicle business. For mandate 269, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Marketing Officer’s first year on the passenger-vehicle business is expected to end with brand preference, commercial contribution and disciplined marketing investment. In mandate 269, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a planned replacement for the Chief Marketing Officer — Passenger-Vehicle Business seat. The incumbent continues to lead the passenger-vehicle business through an agreed succession period and will support a structured handover. The board has allowed 4–6 months to assess candidates, complete diligence and protect continuity while a software-defined vehicle transition is addressed. The search is confidential so the transition can be communicated to employees, customers and partners in a controlled sequence.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Marketing 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 ₹11,650 crore in regional revenue and programme portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Marketing Officer Automotive organisation of about 2,300 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 a software-defined vehicle transition, with Chief Marketing Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Marketing Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the passenger-vehicle business; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Prove incremental commercial contribution using controlled evidence, not only reach, activity or brand awards in mandate 269.
• Build the Chief Marketing 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 weak differentiation and inefficient customer acquisition, 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 Marketing 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 brand preference, commercial contribution and disciplined marketing investment, 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 Marketing 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 Marketing 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 Marketing 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 Marketing Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Marketing Officer-owned improvement in the passenger-vehicle business operating constraint behind a software-defined vehicle transition, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 269: 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 CMO, Marketing Director or Growth Leader in a institutionally backed Automotive or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the passenger-vehicle business, your Chief Marketing 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 Marketing Officer brief.

As a Chief Marketing Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Automotive or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹6,750 crore and led an organisation of at least 1,600 people.

For mandate 269, the board wants two transitions: a difficult passenger-vehicle business portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a software-defined vehicle transition. As the prospective Chief Marketing Officer for this passenger-vehicle business, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 269 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Marketing Officer role in Automotive is based in Bengaluru; 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 CMO, Marketing Director or Growth Leader, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Automotive governance forum.
• Proven Chief Marketing Officer ownership of at least ₹6,750 crore and leadership of no fewer than 1,600 employees in a comparable passenger-vehicle business context.
• One completed Automotive or adjacent-sector example of weak differentiation and inefficient customer acquisition 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 Marketing Officer-level passenger-vehicle business consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Bengaluru location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 269.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Marketing Officer package is ₹2.2–3.0 crore fixed + performance variable, calibrated to the final passenger-vehicle business scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 269 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Marketing Officer appointment in Bengaluru, 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 269.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint and transaction history are outside this brief for mandate 269. They will be shared with qualified candidates under a mutual undertaking, and the composite facts here must not be reverse-engineered or circulated for mandate 269.