MUMBAI: Corning Incorporated has announced that Sudhir Pillai has been appointed to the role of managing director for Corning India.

Pillai, who most recently served as commercial director, Corning Life Sciences, will be based in Gurugram, Haryana and will spearhead the company’s growth and operations in India and neighbouring countries. He will also oversee Corning’s optical fibre manufacturing operations in Pune, India.

“Sudhir has contributed significantly to the growth of the Corning Life Sciences business in India,” said Corning International president Thomas Appelt. “Corning remains deeply committed to growing its customer base in India and helping to enhance life in the communities in which we operate. Sudhir brings extensive experience in working in diverse locations and I am confident that he will drive Corning’s growth plans for India.”

“Since I joined Corning, I have been excited to be a part of Corning’s journey in India focused on growth avenues well aligned with the organization. Today, with this new responsibility, I am committed to taking the company’s vision forward and utilise my learnings in the field to ensure growth for the company in India, said Sudhir.

Pillai has close to twenty years of experience in increasing levels of leadership in organisations across diverse industry segments, including telecommunications. Since joining the company last year, he has been leading Corning’s Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical Technologies businesses in India and neighbouring countries. In his last role before joining Corning, Sudhir was Honeywell Electrical Devices and System general manager and director. Pillai graduated in electronics science and completed his MBA in marketing from University of Pune.

He replaces Amit Bansal, who has decided to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities after spending more than a decade with the company.