Bike India – August 2019

MahindraTwoWheelersLimited,

themotorcycleandscooterarmof

India’slegendaryautomotive

conglomerate,is a relativelynew

automotivebrandinIndia,being

establishedintheyear2008.Within

thislimitedtime,thecompanyhas

risenuptobecomeoneofthekey

playersintheautomotivesector.Themanwhostoodasa pillar

forthebrandtoestablishitselfinthemarketis noneotherthan

AnandMahindra,whois MahindraGroup’sinspirationalleader

andoneofthemostrecognizedglobalcorporatehonchosto

emergefromourcountry.

Hehasanimpressiveacademicrecord:apartfroma master’s

inbusinessadministrationfromtheHarvardBusinessSchooland

alsoholdsa degreeinfilm-makingandphotographyfromthe

HarvardUniversity.Hemadehisdébutinthefamilybusinessas

anexecutiveassistantatMahindraUgineSteelintheyear1981.

Withina decade,hetookanevenmoreprominentpositionasthe

PresidentandDeputyManagingDirectorofthecompany.

Lastyear,AnandMahindraplayeda keyroleintheacquisition

oftwoiconicmotorcyclebrands,JawaandBSA,fortheMahindra

Group,thusaugmentingandfortifyingtheconglomerate’s

influenceinthetwo-wheelermarket.Withinthistime,the

companyalsolaunchedtheMahindraMojoandis currently

workingonanupdatedversionofthebikewithABS.

MinoruKatotookoverasPresident

andCEOofHMSIinApril2017,

succeedingKeitaMuramatsu.

Beforethis,hewastheCEOof

HondaVietnam,a positionheldby

himsince2014.

Katosan’s careeratHondabeganintheproductioncontrol

divisionofautomobileoperationsattheSaitamaplant,Japan.

Hehasalmost 30 yearsofexperienceworkingattheHonda

MotorCompany.Hespecializesinproductioncontrol,motorcycle

planning,andsalesacrossEurope,Japan,andSouth-EastAsia.

Duringhistenure,lastyearHMSIinvestedRs 630 croretoset

upanadditionalproductionlinewithanannualcapacityof

6,00,000unitsinVithalapur,Gujarat.Planssuggestthatthenew

productionlinewillbecomeoperationalby 2020 andraisethe

outputtosevenmillionunitsforHonda.

Katosanexpectsthedemandtosoarinthedomestictwo-

wheelermarketbytheendofthesecondquarter.HMSIunder

theleadershipofMinoruKatoareconfidentoflong-termgrowth

inIndia.

MotofumiShitarais aneconomics

graduatefromtheKouklakis

University,Japan.Hisassociation

withtheJapanesetwo-wheeler

giantbeganin 1986 whenhejoined

Yamaha’ssubmarinedivision.He

hasmorethan 20 yearsof

experienceinthatfield.His

contributionearnedhimthepostofGM,BusinessPlanning

Division,MarineBusiness,forYamahaMotorCompany,Japan,in

2011.Fouryearslater,hewaspromotedasexecutiveofficerat

YamahaMotorCompanyinadditiontoholdingofficeasthe

executivechiefgeneralmanagerofthemarinebusiness.

In2018,thetopbrassatYamahaMotorCompanydecidedto

appointShitarasanastheManagingDirectorofYamahaMotor

IndiaPrivateLimitedandYamahaMotorIndiaSalesPrivate

Limited.UnderhisleadershipYamahaIndiahaverefreshedtheir

two-wheelerportfolioandupdatedmostoftheirmodelswith

eitherCBSorABS.

Inthepastyear,thebiggestlaunchforYamahawastheMT-15.

PoweredbythesamemillthatpropelstheYZF-R15version3.0,

thebabyMTis alreadyoutsellingitsclosestcompetitor.What’s

next?Yamahaareplanningtoacquire 10 percentofthetwo-

wheelermarketinIndia.

anandMahindRa

MinoRukato

MotofuMi ShitaRa

Vice-chairmanandMD,MahindraGroup

PresidentandCEO,HondaMotorcycleandScooterIndia(HMSI)

Chairman,IndiaYamahaMotorPvtLtd

POWER PERSONALITIES

94 Bike India august 2019 http://www.bikeindia.in