MAM
Highway Roop drives in Dharmesh Arora as CEO to steer its global ambitions in auto components
MUMBAI: For India’s auto component sector, the race is heating up—and Highway Roop just brought in a serious driver. The newly-formed platform has named industry veteran Dharmesh Arora as its CEO, marking a pivotal leadership shift as it gears up for scale and global competitiveness.
The appointment brings over three decades of expertise to Highway Roop Precision Technologies Limited, a merged platform of Highway Industries Limited and Roop Automotives Limited. Arora previously served as
Schaeffler Group CEO – Asia Pacific and led Schaeffler India for seven years before that. His career journey began in 1986 as a product engineer at Maruti Suzuki, later spanning leadership stints at General Motors across supply chain and procurement.
“We are excited that Dharmesh has joined as CEO of Highway Roop. He is a highly experienced professional who has a deep understanding of the automotive industry and brings decades of global experience in building and managing automotive businesses. Dharmesh will be focusing on accelerating growth, driving operational excellence, and leveraging innovation to deliver enhanced value for the Platform’s customers and strengthen its market position”, said Highway Roop non-executive chairman Mohit Oswal.
With the Indian automotive ecosystem entering an electrifying phase—literally and figuratively—Highway Roop’s timing is sharp. The company manufactures forged and precision-machined components, steering assemblies, and transmissions for electric, hybrid and ICE-powered vehicles. Under Arora’s stewardship, the company aims to add synergistic assets and expand its footprint across global markets.
“I am honored to join Highway Roop at such an exciting time for India’s automotive industry. The platform’s strong manufacturing capabilities, diverse product portfolio, and global customer base create a powerful foundation for expansion. I am looking forward to collaborating with the talented Highway Roop team to create long-term and sustainable value for its customers and stakeholders”, commented Arora.
Backed by a rich legacy and a forward-looking product lineup, Highway Roop appears ready to shift gears. With Arora at the helm, the company is positioning itself to play a leading role in the evolving auto supply chain—where scale, sustainability, and speed will define who leads and who lags.
MAM
GUEST COLUMN: How data and adtech are driving OOH growth in India
Data and technology are reshaping OOH and boosting advertiser confidence.
MUMBAI: Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising is evolving from a traditional, location-driven medium into a data-informed channel that blends physical presence with digital intelligence. For Nipun Arora, co-founder of Osmo, this transformation is redefining how advertisers plan, execute, and measure campaigns in India. In this piece, Arora explores how traffic, mobility, and AI-powered data are enhancing site and audience insights, why DOOH is accelerating precision planning, and how authenticity, creativity, and repeat exposure are driving renewed advertiser confidence in OOH.
For years, Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising operated with minimal reliance on data. Site selection was largely driven by visibility, location, and a planner’s understanding of traffic patterns.
That is now changing rapidly.
The first shift came with traffic data, offering basic estimates of vehicular movement. This evolved into mobility data powered by GPS signals, enabling deeper insights into audience movement and behavior. Point-of-interest data further refined this by helping advertisers understand who is likely to be present around a location.
Today, artificial intelligence and computer vision are unlocking an entirely new layer of site and audience intelligence. Together, these data streams are transforming OOH from a real estate-led medium into a data-backed one.
The rise of Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) is accelerating this shift. Campaigns can now be planned, scheduled, and optimized with increasing precision bringing OOH closer to an adtech model. That said, as a physical medium, OOH still operates within real-world constraints, making this transition gradual rather than absolute.
At the same time, advertisers are returning to OOH with renewed interest.
One of the biggest drivers is authenticity. Unlike digital platforms, OOH offers real-world visibility free from bots, fraudulent impressions, or ad blockers. What you see is what exists.
There’s also growing digital fatigue. Consumers are overwhelmed by constant online advertising, often choosing to skip or ignore it. OOH, by contrast, engages audiences naturally within their environment, without interruption.
Mobility further strengthens its impact. As people move through cities daily, OOH benefits from repeated exposure building recall over time in a way few channels can match.
Add to this the power of creativity. Large formats and contextual executions don’t just capture attention, they often extend beyond the physical space, finding life on social media.
Finally, the increasing availability of data at the planning stage is boosting advertiser confidence. Better insights mean better decisions and more accountability.
As cities grow and movement increases, OOH is uniquely positioned at the intersection of physical presence and data intelligence. Its evolution from billboards to big data isn’t just a technological shift, it’s a redefinition of the medium itself.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
