Maruti Suzuki former top executive Sudam Maitra, who left the carmaker on July 15, may join Tata Motors in next few weeks, sources told FE. This is seen as a major coup for Tata Motors that has lately seen a series of senior-level exits and currently re-inventing itself with new products after posting declining sales for about two years.
Maitra had joined Maruti in July 1983 and was part of the founding team. He was chief operating officer for supply chain till April-May when he was re-designated as a ‘chief mentor’ in charge of special projects. He, however, resigned soon.
?This move will be a big gain for Tata at a time when it is looking to build a strong vendor base for both itself and Jaguar Land Rover with a focus on high quality and low costs. Maitra has immense experience of the industry, having worked with Maruti since the start. Since Maruti was one of the first modern carmakers in India, he had a huge stake in building the country’s auto component industry, having hand-held most firms in the early stages,? said an executive, who had worked with Maitra for several years.
When contacted, a Tata Motors spokesperson said there was ?no confirmation? on the development. Maitra did not pick up calls either.
Tata Motors has seen several top-level exits in the past year, coming soon after death of managing director Karl Slym in a hotel accident in Bangkok. A new MD is yet to be appointed, with Egon Zehnder reportedly contracted for the job. Currently, the automaker is run by a steering committee headed by Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry. In May, senior vice-president (commercial-passenger vehicle business) Ankush Arora quit, followed by head of purchases Venkatram Mamillapalle, and, head of human resources and legal Rajesh Bagga.
