Hitachi India has announced the appointment of Bharat Kaushal as their new managing director. Kaushal will be the first Indian to spearhead Hitachi India’s operations. He succeeds Nakakita who has been elevated as chairman of Hitachi India and Hitachi Asia.
Kaushal will assume the office from 1 June 2017.
Kaushal is currently serving as the chairman of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s (SMBC) India operations. He is the first non-Japanese to be appointed as SMBC India’s CEO and served the role between 2012 and 2015.
In his new role, he will focus on promoting Hitachi’s social innovation business in India, which resolves issues faced by society and customers, by combining advanced IT with operational technology (OT) and products/systems.
Hitachi India was declared the fifth regional headquarter for the Japanese conglomerate in 2011. Other key management areas outside Japan are China, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas. Hitachi in India operates in diverse verticals including information and communication systems, industrial systems such as water, oil and gas supply and management, transportation and urban development systems.
Speaking on the appointment, Nakakita said, “The management at Hitachi unanimously believed in the decision of appointing an Indian to lead the company’s ambitious and challenging mandate. India is a strategic and emerging market for us. Kaushal is ideally credentialed to drive Hitachi’s social innovation business in India. We feel his experience in promoting cross-border business relationships between the Japanese and Indian government and companies is a unique leverage. We are extremely confident of his leadership and pioneering vision and I will personally support him in driving our business to achieve unprecedented growth.”
Commenting on his new remit, Kaushal said, “It is a privilege to be entrusted with the responsibility of leading a company with an iconic legacy. I will aim at aggressively expanding Hitachi’s social innovation business by building on the core ethos of the company. I look forward to being part of an already winning team and taking Hitachi to new heights by contributing to improvement of customers and the society.”
Kaushal has over 25 years of industry experience, specialising in macroeconomic policy, government advisory, project finance, debt restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions. He is currently a member of the Indo-Japan Task Force (IJTF) set up by the two governments and is the convenor of the Financial Strategy Group to address policy as well as operational level concerns of the Japanese government and private sector institutions pursuing business opportunities in India.
He is an alumnus of Columbia University, where he pursued a Master’s in International Affairs and Northeastern University where he secured a Master’s in Business Administration. He is a graduate of St Stephen’s College, Delhi.
BW Reporters
The author is a journalist with BW Businessworld. He primarily covers Retail, Media & Entertainment and Travel & Tourism sectors
