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Hero MotoCorp Ltd., a manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, has appointed Kausalya Nandakumar as chief business officer – emerging mobility business unit.
In this role, Nandakumar will report to Pawan Munjal, executive chairman, and will be responsible for steering the strategic direction and growth of Hero MotoCorp’s emerging mobility business—Vida.
Nandakumar brings nearly two decades of leadership experience spanning the automotive, electric mobility, digital innovation, and social impact sectors. She is widely recognized for driving business transformation, scaling high-growth ventures, fostering innovation, and championing diversity. Her appointment underscores Hero MotoCorp’s commitment to shaping the future of mobility through cutting-edge technologies and new growth platforms, including Vida.
Nandakumar joins Hero MotoCorp after a 18-year career with the Mahindra Group, where she held several key leadership roles and played an instrumental role in building and scaling new businesses. Most recently, as chief operating officer of Mahindra Electric Automobile Ltd., she led the operational readiness and go-to-market strategy for the company’s electric SUV business valued at USD 9.8 billion.
Earlier in her career, she headed Business Transformation for Mahindra’s Farm Division and was instrumental in building “Krish-e” - the company’s farming-as-a-service platform, driving its strategy, marketing, and operational excellence. At Glyd, Mahindra’s electric shared mobility business, she had end-to-end responsibility for operations and the technology platform development.
As CEO of SmartShift, Nandakumar envisioned and built one of India’s first digital logistics platforms, transforming it into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. She also led a major CSR initiative for the group and played a pivotal role in advancing the electric vehicle ecosystem by supporting the development of critical enablers such as the vehicle charging infrastructure.
Academically, Nandakumar holds an MBA in marketing from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai, and Bachelor’s degree in Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering from Mumbai University.