The world’s oldest motorcycle brand is about to get some new blood, as Dr. Venki Padmanabhan has been named Royal Enfield Motors new CEO. Serving Royal Enfield for the past two years as COO under then CEO R.L. Ravichandran, Padmanabhan has a bevy of management experience, which has seen him serve as the Managing Director of Chrysler’s South East Asia Global Sourcing Office, along with other positions at General Motors and Mercedes-Benz. While Padmanabhan has been at Royal Enfield, the company has posted 21% growth in sales volume, 54% growth in sales turnover, and double-digit profitability (that’s the business equivalent to a triple-double).
Reporting to Siddhartha Lal, the Managing Director of Eicher Motors Limited (Royal Enfield’s parent company), we imagine Padmanabhan’s marching orders will be to continue the strong growth the company saw under Ravichandran, and to continue to expand into emerging markets, while solidifying Royal Enfield’s position in India against outside producers.
“Padmanabhan has already proven to be an outstanding leader for Royal Enfield while working alongside R.L. Ravichandran as company’s COO,” said Kevin Mahoney, President of Classic Motorworks, Royal Enfield’s official United States distributor. “His world-wide experience in the automotive industry and passion for bringing new life to historic brands make him the ideal candidate to build on the success from recent years and continue Royal Enfield’s growth as global brand.”
A citizen of both the United States and India, Dr. Padmanabhan received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1991, and also holds a M.S. in Engineering Management from the University of Pittsburgh and a B.S. in Mechanical (Automotive) Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology in Ranchi, India.
Source: Royal Enfield
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