Ssanyong Motor company appoints Dr Pawan Goenka as Chairman

Dr Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) has been appointed as the Chairman of Ssangyong Motor Company (SYMC) at a meeting of the newly appointed Board of Directors of the company, in Korea. This is in furtherance to M&M announcing that it had completed all formalities related to the acquisition of a majority stake in SsangYong Motor Company and that the company is no longer in Court Receivership.  The new CEO of SYMC will be Mr. Yoo-il Lee, while Mr. Dilip Sundaram from Mahindra will be the new CFO. Mahindra had emerged as the preferred bidder for SYMC in August 2010.

The Board of Directors of SYMC includes the following: Independent Directors; Mr. Thierry Moulong Executive Vice President and CFO, Member of the Executive Committee, Renault from 2004 -2010,Dr. Kim Kihwan Korea’s Ambassador-at-Large for Economic Affairs from 1997-1999,Vice Minister of Trade and Industry, Government of Korea from 1983-1984,Member of the Monetary Policy Board, Government of Korea from 1981-1983.

Mr. Suk Suh Yoon, Ph.D. Korea International Trade Insurance system, the current Chairman of the Committee for the Special Assessment, currently the Dean of Ewha Women’s University College of Business. President and CEO Mr. Yoo-il Lee ,Legal Trustee / Chairman, Ssangyong Motor Company, Seoul Korea, Former President & C.E.O of Hyundai Motor North America (U.S.A. and Canada), Former President, Hyundai Development Company (construction & engineering), Seoul, Korea.

Dr. Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.  Mr. Bharat Doshi  Executive Director & Group CFO, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. “We are delighted that Dr. Goenka who has played a key role in this initiative, has been appointed Chairman of SsangYong Motor Company and are sure that under his and Mr. Lee’s stewardship, SYMC will scale new heights,” said Mr. Bharat Doshi, Executive Director & Group CFO, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. who was present at the Board meeting in Seoul, Korea.

Speaking on his appointment as Chairman of SYMC, Dr Pawan Goenka said, “It is a matter of great pride for me to be appointed Chairman of one of Korea’s premier automotive companies. With the support of the local management, Mahindra and SYMC will emerge as a strong force in the global utility vehicle space. We are committed to nurturing the SsangYong brand in both the Korean and global markets and returning it to its days of glory.”

“Mahindra brings with it a great deal of passion, domain expertise and knowledge of the global UV market, as India’s leading utility vehicle (UV) manufacturer. All of us at SsangYong look forward to working closely with the Mahindra team to help develop a new product portfolio and gain momentum in overseas markets,” said Mr. Yoo-il Lee, CEO, SsangYong Motor Company.

For Mahindra, the biggest benefit from this partnership will be the opportunity to harness synergies between the two companies, while protecting their respective brand identities and ensuring quality. Towards this end, a Synergy Council comprising of senior management from both companies will be established to ensure focus and delivery of synergies between the two companies. The Council will focus on various aspects such as global procurement, new car development and business strategy to penetrate international markets.

Going ahead, Mahindra has also proposed the following five point agenda for SsangYong,strengthening the product pipelin,Harnessing synergies between the two companies, Investing in the SYMC brand,Building human resources and Focusing on financial stability.
SsangYong has also proposed the following investments; in 2011, the business plan calls for a 70%  investment increase in product development, as compared to last year, at over KRW 200 billion. Over 40 billion KRW for brand building in Korea - a 60% increase over 2010 - and an increase in overseas brand investment by over four times, in 2011.

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