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Hero MotoCorp’s Dhiraj Tripathi joins Electric One as co-founder & COO
Mumbai: Hero MotoCorp’s former executive Dhiraj Tripathi has joined auto start-up Electric One Mobility as co-founder and chief operating officer (COO).
Electric One is a multi-brand EV franchise store chain with a pan-India presence that provides a retail platform under one roof for sales, after-sales and distribution of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers to leading EV manufacturers such as Okinawa, Kinetic Green, Lectrix by SAR group, BattRE, Hero Lectro, LML Electric, GT Force, Mayuri, Olectra and Hayasa.
An auto industry veteran, Tripathi has donned several leadership roles in the last 25 years across leading companies like Bajaj Auto, Honda Cars, Mahindra & Mahindra, Castrol and Daewoo Motors. In his most recent role, he was associated with Hero MotoCorp as regional head for Africa and Middle East region. During his tenure, he led the brand’s market entry into 18 countries in the region, said the statement.
“We are excited to have Dhiraj on board,” commented Electric One founder Amit Das. “I believe that with his strong and diverse auto industry & global business experience, Dhiraj will strengthen domestic business operations and drive international expansion.”
Tripathi commands global business experience across emerging markets of India, Africa, and the Middle East region. In the last decade, he led diverse businesses across leading two-wheeler auto OEMs. Prior to Hero MotoCorp, he served at Bajaj Auto as business head for West Africa, where he was accredited with a cumulative export sale of ~two million units and doubling Bajaj’s market share in Nigeria which is the largest exports market for Indian OEMs, according to the company.
Earlier in his career, Tripathi has been the founding team member of Castrol BikeZone, a start-up from Castrol-BP and regarded as the first multi-brand two-wheeler service franchise store chain in India.
“In a short span, Electric One has emerged as one of the fastest-growing franchises with more than 100 stores across 40 cities in 15 states. It’s gearing up for global expansion across South East Asia, Middle East, Europe and Africa” stated Electric One co-founder and chief – brand & engagement Guido Quill, who is a German national.
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
