MAM
Stellantis bolsters leadership team with key appointments in India
Mumbai: Automotive company Stellantis on Tuesday announced a slew of appointments to bolster its leadership team in India. All appointees will report to Stellantis India, CEO & managing director Roland Bouchara, the statement said.
The latest development follows the recent remodeling of the brands’ leadership in India with Saurabh Vatsa and Nipun J Mahajan taking over as brand heads for Citroen and Jeep, respectively.
“The Stellantis India organisation is firmly in place with a rock-solid leadership,” Bouchara said. “The appointed senior executives, with their extensive experience, will support me in integrating our operations, strengthening our processes, and driving Stellantis India’s operations to the next level.”
According to the automaker’s recent announcement, Joel Verany will be responsible for sales & marketing (S&M) efficiency for Stellantis in India. Joel, an automobile engineer by qualification, has worked with PSA, including Citroen India, for 20 years. Based in India since 2017, Joel previously was PCA India’s VP sales and network, Citroën.
“Going forward, Joel will support both Jeep and Citroën brands in India to achieve volumes, maintain quality and profitability. Besides providing processes and tools for the entire ecosystem of sales & marketing, he will drive synergies for the overall scope of this function and deploy best practices for both brands,” the company said.
Ashish Sahni will be at the helm of the customer journey & digital transformation for Stellantis in India, and also for digital transformation and performance marketing for the India & Asia Pacific (IAP) region. “Ashish has a strong track record and reputation as a digital strategist, marketing maven and business builder over 20 years, across industries such as automobiles, travel & tourism, insurance, and media. Under his leadership, Citroën India shaped its digital customer journey, which offers Indian customers a rather unique and seamless online experience and retail journey. His previous job was PCA India director of digital marketing,” the company said.
Hitesh Jain, is appointed as general counsel, India within Stellantis IAP region and is responsible for legal functions for all Stellantis entities in India. Hitesh, a science and law graduate has two decades of work experience in a variety of legal and corporate secretarial roles across diverse organisations. He is also a member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Previously, Hitesh was responsible for legal and company secretary functions at the erstwhile FCA India.
Puneet Sabharwal is responsible for finance at Stellantis India, and also assumes responsibility as the sales & marketing controller for Jeep as well as Citroën brands. He will be responsible for accounting, reporting, and taxation for India operations. Puneet is a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and has diverse work experience spanning 25 years in the automotive industry. Previously, Puneet was responsible for the finance function at PCA India.
Samuel Jacob will be the head of human resources for the Stellantis IAP region as well as the India market. Samuel has 26 years of overall work experience, in India and overseas, across diverse industries such as hospitality, manufacturing, and aviation.
Sreeji Kumar is responsible for information technology and digital transformation at Stellantis India. His role encompasses IT and technology solutions across sales and marketing, after-sales, manufacturing, import & export, connectivity, and R&D. A digital technology expert with over 21 years of work experience, Sreeji has worked with a variety of MNCs and industries. He joined the erstwhile PCA India as chief information officer, in 2020 and is credited to spearheading end-to-end IT solution deployment and activation of Citroën India manufacturing operations, including the C5 Aircross SUV launch in the market.
M Raj Kalyanarajan, is responsible for vehicle manufacturing for the Citroën brand. His experience of 27 years spans automotive and earthmoving industries in India and in the US. Raj has been instrumental in reviving the brownfield car manufacturing facility at Thiruvallur from its idle state to its current operations, for manufacturing of the C5 Aircross SUV and future products.
Xavier de Gaudemaris takes charge of supply chain operations at Stellantis India. Xavier has worked in the supply chain industry for over 20 years and his new role includes production planning, vehicle domestic, and export logistics.
Moreover, Jerome Dubrac will oversee manufacturing finance in India and Vincent Baron for Hosur plant operations.
Goëry Weymuller is responsible for customer experience in India within Stellantis India & Asia Pacific (IAP) region. He has spent 42 years working in PSA in R&D and quality positions in Europe, Latin America, and China before beginning his automotive customer and product stint in India four years ago. ” Goëry will be responsible for Citroën customer satisfaction including setting quality targets for new products till the final approbation of the vehicles after the completion of the manufacturing of the vehicle and before delivery to customers,” the company added.
Brands
Kaartech raises $11 million in Series B funding
Playbook Partners leads round as AI-led firm crosses Rs 1,000 crore revenue mark.
MUMBAI: Kaartech just fuelled its rocket with fresh cash because when you’re already crossing Rs 1,000 crore and running on KTern.AI, the next stage needs serious thrust. KaarTech, a global AI-led enterprise transformation partner, has raised $11 million (approximately Rs 100 crore) in a Series B primary funding round led by Playbook Partners. The round follows the company’s $30 million raise in July 2023 led by A91 Partners.
The fresh capital arrives as Kaartech crosses Rs 1,000 crore in revenue, clocking a 44 per cent compound annual growth rate over the past five years. The growth has been powered by its proprietary platform KTern.AI, which embeds governance and outcome assurance into large-scale enterprise transformations.
The new funds will accelerate Kaartech’s next phase, with focus on deepening AI, data and industry innovation capabilities. The company plans a strategic acquisition to strengthen data engineering and analytics, enabling more powerful AI-driven insights for clients. It will also invest heavily in scaling its AI-led Enterprise Operating System (EOS) platform set to roll out to existing customers in Q2 FY27, with full general availability planned for Q4 FY27. New clients will receive a complimentary AI Readiness Assessment to identify priority use cases, evaluate data readiness and build tailored transformation roadmaps.
Kaartech will expand its global AI Labs, including a new Oil & Gas AI Lab in Houston and additional labs in Bangalore and Chennai focused on CPG & Retail, Engineering & Natural Resources, and Utilities. These labs will develop industry-specific AI solutions and SLM-based foundation models for enterprise use cases.
Kaartech, Founder & CEO Maran Nagarajan said, “This raise marks a defining chapter in Kaartech’s journey. A 4X growth in enterprise value since our Series A reflects the trust placed in us by our employees, customers, partners, and stakeholders. As we drive a clear shift toward an outcome-led Enterprise Operating System, this partnership with Playbook Partners enables us to deepen our Data Engineering and Analytics capabilities, pursue strategic acquisitions, and scale globally.”
Playbook Partners managing partner Vikas Choudhury added, “KaarTech stands out for its deep domain expertise, AI-led transformation capabilities, and strong client relationships. With operations across the US, Europe, and the Middle East, the company has demonstrated remarkable value creation in recent years.”
In a transformation game where most players still chase buzzwords, Kaartech isn’t just raising money, it’s raising the bar, turning AI from a shiny add-on into the actual operating system of enterprise change.
