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Hero MotoCorp, India’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, said on Monday that its board has appointed Harshavardhan Chitale as chief executive officer, effective Jan. 5, 2026.
With the appointment, Vikram Kasbekar, who has been serving as acting C.E.O., will step down from that role. He will remain on the company’s board as executive director and chief technology officer.
Chitale, 55, is a veteran executive with more than three decades of experience in industrial automation, lighting, information technology services and digital transformation. He has held senior roles in both business-to-business and consumer-facing sectors, and has been credited with steering multinational corporations through growth and restructuring in India, the United States and Europe.
He most recently served as global chief executive of Signify’s €4 billion Professional Business, where he led a workforce of 12,000 employees across 70 countries. In that role, he oversaw manufacturing, supply chain, product development and digital initiatives. Earlier, as vice chairman and managing director of Philips Lighting India, he was responsible for executing its spin-off into a publicly listed entity and strengthening its market leadership.
Chitale has also held senior leadership positions at HCL Infosystems and Honeywell Automation India, where he was credited with delivering shareholder value and driving transformative growth.
A graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, he is also an active angel investor with interests in electric vehicles, clean energy, health technology and agricultural technology.
Read More: Two key senior executives quit Hero MotoCorp