MAM
Chaba to head General Motors India, Vij promoted as executive director GM, Europe
MUMBAI: General Motors Asia Pacific today announced the appointment of Rajeev Chaba as president and managing director, GM India, with effect from 1 June.
Rajeev Chaba
Chaba will replace Aditya Vij, who will assume new responsibilities in the GM Europe organisation as executive director sales, marketing and aftersales, GM Norden, Benelux and Switzerland.
Since September 2003, Chaba has served as chief operating officer of GM India. Prior to this, he served as director, sales and marketing, GM Japan where he facilitated restructuring of the GM business including significantly increasing the sales of Suzuki produced Chevrolet Cruz.
“Rajeev brings diverse business experience to GM India, including significant global experience. His exceptional leadership skills will play a key role in building upon the foundation set up by Aditya in an extremely important market for the company,” said GM Asia Pacific general manager group vice president and president Troy Clarke.
Chaba began his career at GM India in 1995 as national marketing manager. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from IIM Bangalore. Prior to joining GMm, he worked for a automotive group in the UAE.
Aditya Vij
In his new assignment, Vij will have overall responsibility for managing GM business in the Scandinavian markets, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and Switzerland. He will be based in Stockholm, Sweden.
“We greatly appreciate the excellent job that Aditya has done during his tenure at GM India. Aditya directed the successful launch of Chevrolet in the country and consequently, GM India has grown in importance to the company under his leadership. We wish him continued success in his new assignment,” Clarke said.
Vij began his career at GM 14 years ago and has held various positions with increasing responsibilities both in Europe and Asia. He was appointed president and managing director of GM India in August 2000.
Vij holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Delhi University, India and is a fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants, India. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Brands
Kansai Nerolac tests paint in stratosphere for durability proof
Excel Everlast sent to 86,000 ft, survives -64°C and extreme UV exposure
MUMBAI: If walls could talk, this one would say it’s been to space and back. Kansai Nerolac has taken product testing to dizzying new heights quite literally by sending its exterior paint into the stratosphere in a bid to prove durability beyond the lab. In what the company calls a first for the Indian paint industry, a stratospheric balloon carried a payload coated with its Excel Everlast paint to an altitude of 86,000 feet above Earth. Up there, conditions are less “extreme weather” and more “near space”: temperatures drop below -64°C, ultraviolet radiation hits unfiltered, and atmospheric pressure is only a fraction of what it is at sea level.
Most materials struggle to survive such a hostile environment. This one didn’t. According to the campaign, the painted surface returned intact no visible damage, no compromise effectively turning a marketing claim into a high-altitude experiment.
The initiative, conceptualised by ULKA, moves away from simulated lab tests to something far more theatrical and verifiable. The campaign film documents the entire journey, positioning the exercise as proof rather than promise.
The test also doubles as a showcase for the Excel Everlast range, which includes features such as nano-silica-based protection, 30 per cent higher toughness and crack-bridging capability, along with a 20-year warranty claims now dramatised under conditions few buildings will ever face.
For Kansai Nerolac, the stunt is less about spectacle and more about signalling intent: in a category often dominated by functional messaging, it’s an attempt to turn durability into something tangible and memorable.
Because when your paint survives near-space, the neighbourhood monsoon suddenly feels like a very small test.
