K Srinivas, President (Motorcycle Business) of Bajaj Auto, has quit after nearly 15 years in the company. Eric Vas, President (Retail Finance), has replaced him.

There are no details of Srinivas’ next assignment except that it will be in the non-automotive space. He is expected to formally wrap up his tenure at Bajaj Auto in the coming weeks.

Srinivas took charge of the motorcycle business in October 2011 following the resignation of S Sridhar, now CEO of Escorts Agri Machinery. At that point in time, it was Vas who stepped into his role as President (Retail Finance). Srinivas has been part of the core team at Bajaj Auto that has spearheaded the focus on motorcycles and, more specifically, the Pulsar and Discover. The process of change had kicked off in 2009 when the company decided to shift to a brand-centric approach where the Pulsar would be part of the sports segment with the Discover in the commuter category.

The strategy worked and by the time Srinivas took charge, both brands had settled down nicely in their focused slots. The Discover, in particular, was finally doing the trick for Bajaj in a segment where Hero MotoCorp is the leader with its Splendor and Passion brands.

Srinivas also saw the launch of new platforms for these two brands which, in turn, spawned models like the Pulsar NS and the Discover 100 and 125.“Today, mileage is a given and challengers like Bajaj Auto need to do something more. That is why we are making a statement with speed, power and extra features,” Srinivas had told Business Line at the unveiling of the Discover 100M in Pune last October.

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