Automotive solution maker Harman, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd has announced the appointment of Prathab Deivanayagham as country manager for its India operations effective 1 July. The company focuses on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets as its primary business.
Deivanayagham has been with Harman for over eight years and was previously leading Harman’s automotive business in the country. As the new country manager, Deivanayagham will further strengthen Harman’s leadership across both its divisions — automotive and lifestyle in India.
Deivanayagham succeeds Pradeep Chaudhry, who played a key role in HARMAN India’s growth story for close to five years. Chaudhry has decided to step down to spend more time with family, and pursue his personal projects. With over 25 years of industry experience, Deivanayagham has been involved in launching and expanding a greenfield manufacturing site at Harman, bringing on-board and strengthening its relationships with key OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) like Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki. He had previously worked with automotive electronics supplier Visteon in India.
Upon this development, David Slump, President – Global Markets, HARMAN said, “We remain committed to our business in India, which also happens to be home for our biggest employee force. Our ongoing projects in India are a source of pride for our employees around the world. India is part of our growing BRIC countries, which contributes 16% of our global sales.”
On his appointment as the County Manager for India, Deivanayagham said, “I am humbled by the appointment and the confidence placed in me by the company leadership. My ambition is to further strengthen our company’s incredible legacy in India, build more powerful and purposeful brands, and make a valuable contribution to the success of our employees, customers and communities. Our Indian operations are strategic not only for the work we do for our domestic customers but also for the innovations that feed breakthroughs at HARMAN globally.”
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Harman India’s Business Operations
With over 9,000 employees, India hosts Harman’s largest workforce across the world. For the last 11 years, Harman India has been growing its leadership in both sales and R&D capabilities, and today has development centres across seven cities, and a manufacturing facility in Chakan, Maharashtra, which manufactures highly sophisticated connected car solutions including automotive infotainment units, and digital cockpits for Harman’s domestic and global automotive customers.