Mercedes-Benz Appoints Vyankatesh Kulkarni As Executive Director And Head of Operations, India

The country’s largest luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz today announced the appointment of Vyankatesh Kulkarni as the Executive Director and Head of Operations, India, effective June 1, 2022. Vyankatesh will be responsible for production and procurement-related functions of Mercedes-Benz India, including the company’s transformation journey into electrification, digitization and technology-driven smart manufacturing prowess of the future.

Announcing this key leadership appointment, Martin Schwenk, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said, “We are excited to welcome Vyankatesh Kulkarni to Mercedes-Benz India as the Executive Director and Head of Operations, India. He is a highly experienced professional bringing two decades of rich experience in technology, supply chain and digitization journey of Mercedes-Benz. Vyankatesh has successfully handled many important global projects

at MBRDI in the areas of planning, simulations, engineering, quality and supply chain. At Mercedes-Benz India, he will build on the strong localization competencies of our world-class manufacturing facility and related resources. He will also play a pivotal role in transforming the manufacturing ecosystem by undertaking the company’s transitional journey into electrification and technology driven ‘Smart Manufacturing’ and Industry 4.0 practices of the future. I look forward to his contributions and wish him the very best in his new role.”

Vyankatesh joined Mercedes Benz Research and Development India Pvt. Ltd. (MBRDI) in 2008 and was instrumental in strategizing and setting up the ‘International tech-hub’ for Manufacturing and Supply Chain. With his professional insights and strategic direction, Vyankatesh played a leading role in many critical projects globally.

He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and pursued Data Science from IIM, Lucknow. Prior to Mercedes Benz Research & Development India, Vyankatesh worked with leading automotive companies such as TATA Motors-Technologies and Maruti Suzuki India.