Ex-Jaguar Land Rover CEO Ralf Speth to become TVS chairman

Speth currently sits on the board of the multinational motorcycle company and will lead the firm from 2023

Ex-Jaguar Land Rover CEO Sir Ralf Speth will be appointed chairman of TVS Motor Company, an Indian motorcycle manufacturer, in 2023.

Speth joined the Indian multinational firm as a member of the board of directors today after stepping down as Jaguar Land Rover CEO in September.

He now sits on three major automotive company boards, serving as vice-chairman of the board at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and a board member at Tata, which owns both JLR and TVS.

Talking to Autocar sibling title Autocar Professional, current TVS chairman Venu Srinivasan said Speth has been chosen for the role because of his “enormous capabilities and proven leadership at JLR, which is today a global brand with outstanding quality and style”.

He said TVS also hopes to exploit Speth’s “great domain knowledge” of the automotive industry to improve the company, which has recently been on an expansion drive, acquiring the UK’s Norton Motorcycles in April 2020.

Speth, who was replaced as the CEO of JLR by ex-Renault chief Thierry Bolloré, had the helm at JLR for 10 years. He helped the firm grow substantially during that period, including leading its push into new markets, establishing factories in China, the US and Slovakia.

Speth was also a driving force behind the expansion of JLR’s line-up, overseeing the introduction of the Range Rover Velar and the electric Jaguar I-Pace. It is this experience that TVS will be hoping to tap as it seeks to “build an entity that is faster, agile and more driven”.

TVS Motor Company is the third largest motorcycle company in India and exports bikes to more than 60 countries.

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