| Bengaluru: Technology company Continental has appointed Ajay Kumar as Head of Human Relations, India. In this role, Ajay will overlook both the Automotive and Rubber Groups in India, covering over 8000 employees spread across 15 locations, 8 manufacturing plants and eight legal entities. In this role, Ajay will spearhead initiatives for building transformational leadership and a progressive work culture, and will lead deployment of solutions to enhance competence, performance, and employee engagement.
Ajay Kumar was previously heading HR for Continental’s Technical Centre India (TCI), the in-house R&D center for Continental globally. Ajay was instrumental in leading TCI’s rapid growth in India, with a current headcount of over 3000 engineers supporting all three automotive divisions of Continental, for global and regional markets. Today TCI is well on its way to become a center of competence for different technologies like Artificial Intelligence and ADAS technologies. Commenting on the appointment, Prashanth Doreswamy, Market Head of Continental India, said, “In Ajay, we see a progressive leader who will be at the helm of steering Continental’s strong value system, complementing the organization’s accelerated growth. We have a focused vision for Human Relations at Continental called Future Work, which includes diversity, leadership, flexibility, and learning, as its key components. With his expertise and an impressive track record, I am confident that Ajay will drive Continental India to realize this vision.” According to Ajay Kumar, “I am delighted to take up the new role as head of Human Relations, Continental India. As a technology company, we are rapidly scaling up in terms of business and headcount, with our India headcount poised to touch 10000 by 2020. My priority would be to support this by striving to make Continental a preferred employer in our industries in India.” Ajay, who joined Continental India in 2015, brings to the table over two decades of HR leadership. In addition to leading the rapid growth of TCI, he was also instrumental in streamlining HR practices at TCI, which resulted in TCI receiving several industry accolades for HR best practices from premier industry bodies and organizations. Ajay also has several prestigious HR Leadership awards to his credit. Prior to joining Continental, Ajay was associated with leading organizations such as Bosch, L&T, and Cipla. Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. In 2017, Continental generated sales of €44 billion and currently employs more than 244,000 people in 61 countries and markets. The company has been present in India for close to 50 years, through technology partnerships (Continental Tires since 1974) and joint ventures for its various businesses. Today the tier 1 automotive supplier, tire manufacturer and industrial partner operates across India – with over 8000 employees across 15 locations, including eight plants that cater to the Indian market, and a Technical Center that supports Continental’s global R&D activities. |
