The top brass of General Motors (GM), the world’s second-largest carmaker (by volumes), including its global CEO Mary Barra, chairman Tim Solso and head of International operations Stefan Jacoby will be in India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month and interact with members of the domestic auto industry.
Barra, a career GM executive with 34 years at the company and the first female CEO of a major global automaker, will be the keynote speaker at Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturer’s Annual Convention on September 12. A Stanford MBA, she took over as the CEO in January this year and has previously served at various roles such as global product development, purchasing and supply chain.
Participation by GM’s top officials at SIAM’s annual meet signals growing importance of the Indian market, especially as consumer sentiments revive on the back of confidence on the new BJP-led government. Car sales have come back to black since May, after two years of decline – car vehicle sales fell 5% to 18 lakh units in FY14 and 7% in FY13 to 19 lakh units.
Among other big names expected to participate at the SIAM meet is Fumihiko Ike, chairman of Japanese auto major Honda Motor Company.
