Ramasundar quits Electrolux Kelvinator; to join Satyam Computer subsidiary Nipuna

In a recent development, Ram S Ramasundar has resigned as the CEO and managing director of Electrolux Kelvinator Ltd (EKL). Rajeev Karwal, who is senior vice-president at Philips India, is slated to take over from Ramasundar in January 2003. Ramasundar, however, will continue as a director on the board of EKL and will bid a final adieu at the end of this calendar year, putting an end to his five-year tenure at the company.

Ramasundar will join Nipuna Services Ltd, the business process outsourcing subsidiary of Satyam Computer Services, as COO. He will assume his new responsibility ‘shortly'. In a press statement issued by EKL, Andrew Bentley, president, Electrolux Home Products International, has been quoted as saying, "From modest beginnings, EKL has grown into a fairly significant player in the Indian white goods market, although the task of business building is by no means complete. Ram is an ultimate professional with strong commitment and enthusiasm and has led the company through some difficult and turbulent times and achieved notable successes - such as the completion of a complex merger of multiple legal entities, smooth transition from a multi-brand structure to a single brand, transition from CFC to non-CFC environment."

Indeed. Ramasundar has steered the company through a series of ups and downs. He joined the Electrolux Group in its start-up phase in 1997, as managing director of the erstwhile Maharaja International. A qualified chartered accountant with an MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad, Ramasundar will join Nipuna with 26 years' experience in blue-chip companies like Hindustan Lever and Pepsico, spanning finance, operations and general management.

On his part, as Philips' Karwal gets ready for his new position, he insists, "Till the time I continue to hold my current position, my sole priority is to do justice to the chair I am holding." He, however, adds, "I was not actively looking out for a change. The opportunity came knocking at my door in the shape of a proposal from EKL. Not that I was dissatisfied at Philips; on the contrary, I am thankful to the company for the training and the challenges it offered me during my three-year stint."

It was at Onida that Karwal began his career in marketing. With four years in the Kishinchand Chellaram Group in the Canary Islands, Spain and then had a short stint at Surya Roshni, he joined LG Electronics, Delhi, as vice-president, sales and marketing. No less important is the fact that Karwal, who was awarded the CII Young Managers Award earlier this year, now holds the prestigious position of the president of Consumer Electronics and Television Manufacturers' Association (popularly known as CETMA), the apex body of the consumer electronics industry of India. © 2002 agencyfaqs!