Vipin Sondhi, the managing director and chief executive of commercial vehicles maker Ashok Leyland – who was hired after an extensive head-hunting exercise that lasted more than a year – will step down from his position on 31 December within two years of appointment.
Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman, who had donned the executive hat in the intervening period between previous top executive Vinod Dasari’s exit and Sondhi’s appointment, will again step into an executive role.
“Sondhi has expressed his intention to devote more time to take care of certain personal and family commitments in the post-COVID pandemic situation, that require his extended presence in New Delhi”, read a statement from the Hinduja-Group flagship company.
Prior to this, Sondhi was the managing director and chief executive of the Indian arm of construction equipment manufacturer JCB.
Vipin Sondhi’s exit comes at a time when the commercial vehicles (CV) industry is still under pressure from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ashok Leyland, the number-two CV maker in India, has been particularly affected as sales of buses, one of its strong areas, remain the most-affected.
