MAM
Vinu Lal joins The Good Edge as director
Mumbai: Vinu Lal joins The Good Edge as director Vinu Lal, who has worked with several national titles in financial journalism, has been appointed as director for The Good Edge. As part of the agency’s expansion in the western region, Vinu will set up the company’s Pune office with a mandate to develop that region.
A journalist-turned-entrepreneur, Vinu was most recently country head for New York-based IIICorp Inc. Since 2020, he has been on a sabbatical with random content assignments with London-based Capital.com and Hong Kong-based Insurance Asia News. As a Pearson scholar, Vinu was attached to the Companies Desk at Financial Times, London where he filed several news reports during an internship programme in 2008. With over two decades of experience, Vinu was earlier head of corporate Communications for ING Vysya Bank, where he managed both internal and external communications as well as CSR communications. During his stint, the bank had tied up with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to light up select villages, prone to human-wildlife conflict, in the Gajapati district of Orissa using renewable energy solutions.
Prior to ING, Vinu was senior assistant editor for Economic Times in Bangalore, responsible for corporate news with a primary focus on mergers and acquisitions. He has also handled business news for The Times of India and Indian Express in Mumbai. During his career, he had also served as Head of India Coverage for the London-based Financial Times Group’s news agency Mergermarket (now owned by ION Group) for around five years, primarily reporting on corporate strategies and mergers & acquisitions in the technology and infrastructure segments. Having begun his professional career in Mumbai, Vinu during his mid-career relocated to Bangalore where he mostly spent time on media-based business intelligence products and is also a familiar face among media in both these markets.
Mumbai Press Club member since the late nineties, Vinu has been actively involved in several ad hoc projects initiated by the Club and continues to do so. Vinu has a Master’s in English from Gandhigram Rural Institute in Tamil Nadu and has done executive education from various institutes including the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
MAM
Continental Tires appoints Nevin Aslan-Özkan as Managing Director for India
Finance leader to drive growth in passenger vehicle segment from 6 April 2026.
MUMBAI: Continental Tires has put a fresh pair of tyres on its Indian leadership and this time, they’re rolling with strong financial horsepower. The premium tyre manufacturer has announced the appointment of Nevin Aslan-Özkan as managing director of Continental Tires India, effective 6 April 2026. She succeeds Samir Gupta, who stepped down on 5 April 2026 for personal reasons.
Nevin joined Continental in 2017 and has held key leadership roles in Mergers & Acquisitions and Strategy & Business Development across EMEA and APAC. Since May 2025, she has served as Chief Financial Officer for Continental Tires India, shaping the company’s financial strategy and performance.
In her new role, she will lead the company’s growth agenda in India, with a sharp focus on accelerating its presence in the passenger vehicle segment. This appointment comes at a pivotal time, following the recent launch of the CrossContact A/T² tyre, the first market globally to receive this product and a €10.5 million (approximately Rs 100 crore) investment to strengthen Continental’s position, particularly in the ultra-high-performance (UUHP) segment.
Nevin Aslan-Özkan said, “India continues to be a strong focus market for Continental Tires. Guided by our ‘In the Market, For the Market’ approach, we will continue to deliver products and technologies designed for Indian roads.”
Samir Gupta, who joined Continental in 2012 and served as managing director since January 2022, was recognised for his significant contribution to expanding the brand’s footprint in India.
Continental is a leading global tyre manufacturer founded in 1871. The company generated sales of €19.7 billion in 2025 and employs around 78,000 people across 54 countries. Its Tires group sector, which includes premium car, truck, bus, two-wheel and specialty tyres, recorded sales of €13.8 billion in fiscal 2025 and employs more than 56,000 people worldwide.
With Nevin Aslan-Özkan at the wheel, Continental Tires India is clearly gearing up for a smoother and more aggressive drive in one of the world’s fastest-growing automotive markets. The road ahead looks promising.
