Pisharody’s exit throws up leadership dilemma at SIAM

Ravindra Pisharody’s exit as Executive Director of Tata Motors could pose a challenge to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in choosing its next President.

In the seat right now is Vinod Dasari, Managing Director of Ashok Leyland, whose two-year tenure comes to an end in September. Pisharody, who was elected Vice-President early last year, was tipped to succeed him but his resignation from Tata Motors could put SIAM in a quandary.

It now remains to be seen who the industry body will reach out to and this is not going to be the easiest of tasks, especially with very little time on hand. Dasari will, of course, have to step down at the end of his tenure in September unless he is compelled to stay on longer. With his commitments at Ashok Leyland, this looks very unlikely and the only way out is to hunt for a successor quickly.

Given the present scenario, it is easier said than done. Doubtless, there are competent leaders at companies like Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor, Maruti Suzuki, M&M and so on but will they be ready to take on an added responsibility at this point in time? Perhaps, some of them would not even be remotely interested in handling such an assignment.

The auto industry already has its hands full in coping with challenges like the new GST regime, a sluggish economy and volatile global markets. Companies are also just about coming out of the demonetisation shocker of last November when they literally lost business overnight. Over the next three years, they need to prepare themselves for the new BS-VI regime which is not going to be a walk in the park.

What has been particularly bizarre in recent times has been the roller-coaster ride on the Vice-President’s position at SIAM. When Dasari took charge in September 2015, Arvind Saxena who was President of General Motors India, was nominated his deputy.

What should have been a smooth transition was, instead, derailed when Saxena quit GM India some months later. The vacant V-P’s position at SIAM was then filled by Pisharody, but now he has also decided to call it a day at Tata Motors.

SIAM, meanwhile, has been facing its own set of challenges with the most recent being the Supreme Court decision on banning sale of Bharat Stage III vehicles from April 1. This was a severe setback especially when the industry body was reasonably confident that the transition to BS-IV would only involve the manufacturing date as had been the practice in previous years.

The Court, however, decided otherwise and a host of manufacturers had to liquidate their BS-III stocks in a hurry and at substantial discounts. “There is a feeling now that SIAM is a divided house especially after the emissions drama which left many members disgruntled,” says an industry source.

Perhaps, things are not so bad but clearly the automotive industry has changed rapidly over the years with a host of new challenges emerging in the process. SIAM may need to look at creating new specialisation verticals for trucks, cars and two-wheelers which could also help draw a larger talent pool in the process. For the moment, however, the top priority is to zero in on the next President.

Over the years, this responsibility has been handled by well known names in the industry like Vikram Kirloskar of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, S Sandilya (Eicher), Pawan Goenka (Mahindra & Mahindra), Ravi Kant (formerly with Tata Motors) and Venu Srinivasan (TVS Motor).

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