1. Sergio Marchionne: born June 17, 1952, Sergio Marchionne is an international manager best known for his turnaround of the Italian automotive group Fiat and, more recently, for managing the US automotive group Chrysler from bankruptcy to profitability. He is of Italian origin but brought up in Canada. Marchionne currently holds several roles of major importance, including serving as CEO of Fiat S.P.A., Chairman and CEO of Chrysler Group LLC, and Chairman of Fiat Industrial S.P.A., and its principal subsidiary CNH. He has also served two consecutive terms as Chairman of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. In 2009, he was instrumental in Fiat Group forming a strategic alliance with the ailing US automaker Chrysler, with the support of the US and Canadian governments and trade unions. Less than 2 years later, following its emergence from Chapter 11, Chrysler returned to profitability (Q1 2011) and repaid all government loans (May 2011). Dodge's car and truck line are now split into two, "Dodge" for cars, minivans and crossovers and "Ram" for light and medium duty trucks and other commercial-use vehicles. Also Chrysler and Lancia cars will share the same platform since both brands do not co-exist in a single geographics location. 'Imported From Detroit' has been touted as the best advertising slogan of the year by various trade pundits.
2. Carlos Ghosn: Carlos Ghosn is a Brazilian-Lebanese-French businessman who is currently the Chairman and CEO Japan-based Nissan and holds the same positions at Paris-based Renault, which together produce more than one in 10 cars worldwide. Ghosn is also Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the strategic partnership overseeing the two companies through a unique cross-shareholding agreement. For orchestrating one of the decade's most aggressive downsizing campaigns and spearheading the turnaround of Nissan from near bankruptcy in the late 1990s, Ghosn earned the nicknames "le cost killer" and "Mr. Fix It.". When he joined the company, Nissan had debt of $20 billion and only three of its 48 models were generating a profit -- and reversing the company's sinking fortunes was considered "mission impossible.". Ghosn promised to resign if the company did not reach profitability by the end of the year, and claimed that Nissan would have no net debt by 2005. He defied Japanese business etiquette, cut 21,000 Nissan jobs (or 14 percent of total workforce), shut the first of five domestic plants, and auctioned off prized assets such as Nissan's aerospace unit. in one year, Nissan's net profit climbed to $2.7 billion from a loss of $6.1 billion in the previous year. Twelve months into his three-year turnaround plan, Ghosn had Nissan back in the black, and within three years it was one of the industry's most profitable auto makers, with operating margins consistently above 9% -- more than twice the industry average.In May 2005, Ghosn was named president and chief executive officer of Renault. When he assumed the CEO roles at both Renault and Nissan, Ghosn became the world's first person to run two companies on the Fortune Global 500 simultaneously. He is also the only person to have a comic book published based on his life.
3. Anand Mahindra: Anand Mahindra is the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of one of India’s largest enterprise, Mahindra and Mahindra. Mahindra was a co-promoter of Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd, which was converted into a bank in 2003. Under Anand Mahindra's leadership, the Mahindra Group has set global ambitions and benchmarks for success. The company has grown rapidly through both acquisitions and greenfield business development with several high-profile mergers in the past few years, including the acquisition of Satyam Computer Services in 2009, Kinetic two-wheelers in 2009, Reva Electric Vehicles in 2010, and Ssangyong Motor Company in 2010. In 2002, the company launched an indigenously developed SUV, the Scorpio, which today has gone global. 'Knight of the Order of Merit' by the President of the French Republic. After the breakup of the Mahindra-Renault Alliance, the company has rejuvenated Logan car sales from 200 per month to more than 2000 units per month in a span of 6 months.
4. Rahul bajaj: It takes a lot to build a slogan people remember even after decades. 'Hamara Bajaj' is one of them, a national treasure of sorts. Rahul Bajaj is the man behind the company that made the slogan famous, Chairman at Bajaj Auto and a member of Parliament. What many people considered taboo was considered an opportunity by Rahul Bajaj during the license raj. The burgeoning demand for scooters was satiated only enough to make sure that the scooters appreciate in value after years. If you had foreign currency, your delivery period was shortened from 10 years to a couple of years for the iconic Bajaj Chetak. While the slump of scooters demand in the days of liberalization and globalization caught the company's profits, with the help of collabration from Kawasaki, Bajaj was quick to enter the motorcycle segment. Today while Hero Moto Corp is the largest two wheeler company in India, Bajaj Auto beats them in Motorcycle market share and even the Japanese lag behind. Today Bajaj Auto makes indegenous motorcycles under the Pulsar and Discover brand names and also sells Kawasaki branded motorcycles in the premium end keep a firm grip on the market share. The advertorials have held the cultural value and are a treat to watch even today.
5. Alan Mulally: In the 2009 recession, The largest car manufacturing base in the world fell apart. Two of the three companies sheltered against bankruptcy. The third company had recorded huge losses the year before, yet survived. The company was Ford Motors. The man responsible for such a feat was none other than Alan Mulally, currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company. He began his career with Boeing as an engineer in 1969 and was largely credited with BCA's resurgence against Airbus in the mid-2000s. One of Mulally's first decisions at Ford was to bring back the Taurus Nameplate. He said that he could not understand why the company previously scrapped the Taurus, which had been one of the company's best sellers until losing ground in the late 1990s. Mulally took over "The Way Forward" restructuring plan at Ford to turn-around its massive losses and declining market share. In 2008, amid mounting losses during an economic downturn, Ford announced a proposal on December 2, 2008 to cut Mulally's salary to $1 per year if government loans were received and used by Ford. During hearings for government loans to Ford, he and other industry leaders were criticized for flying to Washington, D.C. in corporate jets. During a subsequent meeting, he traveled from Detroit to Washington by a Ford-built hybrid electric vehicle, while selling all but one of the company's corporate jets. He is also largely credited for achieving a wage rate of $55/hour compared to $76/hour with the UAW (Union of Auto Workers).
6. Martin Winkerkorn: Think Audi, think Volkswagen, think Skoda, think Porsche Automobili, think Lamborghini, think Bentley and Buggati. The thinktank behind this company is Martin Winkerkorn. In 1993 Winterkorn became head of "Group Quality Assurance" at Volkswagen AG, and was appointed General Manager of Volkswagen AG with power of attorney in March 1994. The rest is history. The man responsible for VW group's prominance in the market today. Volkswagen rose to being the thirst largest carmaker taking advantage of the 2008 United States recession which affected big car makers including GM, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota and Honda. VW went on a market expansion spree also signing a controlling agreement with Suzuki especially for the Indian operations and buying Italdesign Guigiaro studios.
7. Chung Moon Koo: At a time when The Germans and Americans were controlling the market and the Japanese were on an offensive, A Korean car maker decided to stand amongst them. Today Hyundai stands as the fifth largest car maker in the world. Chung Mong Koo is much credited with improving the reputation, perception and sales of Hyundai vehicles by shifting the automaker's emphasis from production to quality. Togather with Kia Hyundai has cars are now more known for their quality than their quirky Korean designs. Being one of the latest entrants in the automobile industry, Chung Moon Koo has definitely made the cut taking the company to great heights globally.
8. Roberto Colaninno: Roberto Colaninno is the name that took Piaggio to become the worlds fourth largest two wheeler company. Piaggio's financial position was in a bad shape, but its brand was still well known and its products were featured in many Hollywood films thanks to the Vespa ET4. In 1995, Colaninno had pulled off Europe's then largest-ever hostile takeover when he took control of Telecom Italia SpA. In October 2003, Colaninno made an initial investment of 100 million euros through his holding company Immsi SpA in exchange for just under a third of Piaggio and the mandate to run it. Chief executive Rocco Sabelli redesigned the factory on Japanese principles, and changed it so that every Piaggio scooter could be made on any assembly line.Unlike the turnaround recipe applied at U.S. auto makers, Mr. Colaninno did not fire a single worker. Today Piaggio holds Aprilia, Derby, Laverda(defuct), Gilera, Moto Guzzi and Vespa brands.
9. Brij Mohan Lal Munjal: Brij Mohan Lal Munjal created the worlds largest two wheeler company in Hero Motors. Honda was regarded worldwide as the best automobile maker in the two wheeler market strongly based on the ruggedness in which Hero Motors products are used. The credit goes to Brij Mohan Lal Munjal. Today after the breakup with Honda, the company is still going strong on sales developing new products.
10. Venu Srinivasan: Venu Srinivasan is the Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Motors, and also the Managing Director of Sundaram Clayton Ltd. He has also served as the President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2009-10. In 1990, when TVS Motors' joint venture partner Suzuki refused to bail the company out after a ravaging strike, Srinivasan decided to deal strictly with the labor unions. He shut the factory down for three months, and forced the unions to relent. Then he overhauled the company operations by upgrading the plant, investing in new technology and implementing quality programs.TVS Motors split with Suzuki in 2001, and started manufacturing on its own. Today TVS is the most famous name on the Indian racing scene and the company is the third largest in market share behind Hero moto Corp and Bajaj Auto.
2. Carlos Ghosn: Carlos Ghosn is a Brazilian-Lebanese-French businessman who is currently the Chairman and CEO Japan-based Nissan and holds the same positions at Paris-based Renault, which together produce more than one in 10 cars worldwide. Ghosn is also Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the strategic partnership overseeing the two companies through a unique cross-shareholding agreement. For orchestrating one of the decade's most aggressive downsizing campaigns and spearheading the turnaround of Nissan from near bankruptcy in the late 1990s, Ghosn earned the nicknames "le cost killer" and "Mr. Fix It.". When he joined the company, Nissan had debt of $20 billion and only three of its 48 models were generating a profit -- and reversing the company's sinking fortunes was considered "mission impossible.". Ghosn promised to resign if the company did not reach profitability by the end of the year, and claimed that Nissan would have no net debt by 2005. He defied Japanese business etiquette, cut 21,000 Nissan jobs (or 14 percent of total workforce), shut the first of five domestic plants, and auctioned off prized assets such as Nissan's aerospace unit. in one year, Nissan's net profit climbed to $2.7 billion from a loss of $6.1 billion in the previous year. Twelve months into his three-year turnaround plan, Ghosn had Nissan back in the black, and within three years it was one of the industry's most profitable auto makers, with operating margins consistently above 9% -- more than twice the industry average.In May 2005, Ghosn was named president and chief executive officer of Renault. When he assumed the CEO roles at both Renault and Nissan, Ghosn became the world's first person to run two companies on the Fortune Global 500 simultaneously. He is also the only person to have a comic book published based on his life.
3. Anand Mahindra: Anand Mahindra is the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of one of India’s largest enterprise, Mahindra and Mahindra. Mahindra was a co-promoter of Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd, which was converted into a bank in 2003. Under Anand Mahindra's leadership, the Mahindra Group has set global ambitions and benchmarks for success. The company has grown rapidly through both acquisitions and greenfield business development with several high-profile mergers in the past few years, including the acquisition of Satyam Computer Services in 2009, Kinetic two-wheelers in 2009, Reva Electric Vehicles in 2010, and Ssangyong Motor Company in 2010. In 2002, the company launched an indigenously developed SUV, the Scorpio, which today has gone global. 'Knight of the Order of Merit' by the President of the French Republic. After the breakup of the Mahindra-Renault Alliance, the company has rejuvenated Logan car sales from 200 per month to more than 2000 units per month in a span of 6 months.
4. Rahul bajaj: It takes a lot to build a slogan people remember even after decades. 'Hamara Bajaj' is one of them, a national treasure of sorts. Rahul Bajaj is the man behind the company that made the slogan famous, Chairman at Bajaj Auto and a member of Parliament. What many people considered taboo was considered an opportunity by Rahul Bajaj during the license raj. The burgeoning demand for scooters was satiated only enough to make sure that the scooters appreciate in value after years. If you had foreign currency, your delivery period was shortened from 10 years to a couple of years for the iconic Bajaj Chetak. While the slump of scooters demand in the days of liberalization and globalization caught the company's profits, with the help of collabration from Kawasaki, Bajaj was quick to enter the motorcycle segment. Today while Hero Moto Corp is the largest two wheeler company in India, Bajaj Auto beats them in Motorcycle market share and even the Japanese lag behind. Today Bajaj Auto makes indegenous motorcycles under the Pulsar and Discover brand names and also sells Kawasaki branded motorcycles in the premium end keep a firm grip on the market share. The advertorials have held the cultural value and are a treat to watch even today.
5. Alan Mulally: In the 2009 recession, The largest car manufacturing base in the world fell apart. Two of the three companies sheltered against bankruptcy. The third company had recorded huge losses the year before, yet survived. The company was Ford Motors. The man responsible for such a feat was none other than Alan Mulally, currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company. He began his career with Boeing as an engineer in 1969 and was largely credited with BCA's resurgence against Airbus in the mid-2000s. One of Mulally's first decisions at Ford was to bring back the Taurus Nameplate. He said that he could not understand why the company previously scrapped the Taurus, which had been one of the company's best sellers until losing ground in the late 1990s. Mulally took over "The Way Forward" restructuring plan at Ford to turn-around its massive losses and declining market share. In 2008, amid mounting losses during an economic downturn, Ford announced a proposal on December 2, 2008 to cut Mulally's salary to $1 per year if government loans were received and used by Ford. During hearings for government loans to Ford, he and other industry leaders were criticized for flying to Washington, D.C. in corporate jets. During a subsequent meeting, he traveled from Detroit to Washington by a Ford-built hybrid electric vehicle, while selling all but one of the company's corporate jets. He is also largely credited for achieving a wage rate of $55/hour compared to $76/hour with the UAW (Union of Auto Workers).
6. Martin Winkerkorn: Think Audi, think Volkswagen, think Skoda, think Porsche Automobili, think Lamborghini, think Bentley and Buggati. The thinktank behind this company is Martin Winkerkorn. In 1993 Winterkorn became head of "Group Quality Assurance" at Volkswagen AG, and was appointed General Manager of Volkswagen AG with power of attorney in March 1994. The rest is history. The man responsible for VW group's prominance in the market today. Volkswagen rose to being the thirst largest carmaker taking advantage of the 2008 United States recession which affected big car makers including GM, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota and Honda. VW went on a market expansion spree also signing a controlling agreement with Suzuki especially for the Indian operations and buying Italdesign Guigiaro studios.
7. Chung Moon Koo: At a time when The Germans and Americans were controlling the market and the Japanese were on an offensive, A Korean car maker decided to stand amongst them. Today Hyundai stands as the fifth largest car maker in the world. Chung Mong Koo is much credited with improving the reputation, perception and sales of Hyundai vehicles by shifting the automaker's emphasis from production to quality. Togather with Kia Hyundai has cars are now more known for their quality than their quirky Korean designs. Being one of the latest entrants in the automobile industry, Chung Moon Koo has definitely made the cut taking the company to great heights globally.
8. Roberto Colaninno: Roberto Colaninno is the name that took Piaggio to become the worlds fourth largest two wheeler company. Piaggio's financial position was in a bad shape, but its brand was still well known and its products were featured in many Hollywood films thanks to the Vespa ET4. In 1995, Colaninno had pulled off Europe's then largest-ever hostile takeover when he took control of Telecom Italia SpA. In October 2003, Colaninno made an initial investment of 100 million euros through his holding company Immsi SpA in exchange for just under a third of Piaggio and the mandate to run it. Chief executive Rocco Sabelli redesigned the factory on Japanese principles, and changed it so that every Piaggio scooter could be made on any assembly line.Unlike the turnaround recipe applied at U.S. auto makers, Mr. Colaninno did not fire a single worker. Today Piaggio holds Aprilia, Derby, Laverda(defuct), Gilera, Moto Guzzi and Vespa brands.
9. Brij Mohan Lal Munjal: Brij Mohan Lal Munjal created the worlds largest two wheeler company in Hero Motors. Honda was regarded worldwide as the best automobile maker in the two wheeler market strongly based on the ruggedness in which Hero Motors products are used. The credit goes to Brij Mohan Lal Munjal. Today after the breakup with Honda, the company is still going strong on sales developing new products.
10. Venu Srinivasan: Venu Srinivasan is the Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Motors, and also the Managing Director of Sundaram Clayton Ltd. He has also served as the President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2009-10. In 1990, when TVS Motors' joint venture partner Suzuki refused to bail the company out after a ravaging strike, Srinivasan decided to deal strictly with the labor unions. He shut the factory down for three months, and forced the unions to relent. Then he overhauled the company operations by upgrading the plant, investing in new technology and implementing quality programs.TVS Motors split with Suzuki in 2001, and started manufacturing on its own. Today TVS is the most famous name on the Indian racing scene and the company is the third largest in market share behind Hero moto Corp and Bajaj Auto.
