For the first time in the 50-year history of Swedish engineering company Sandvik?s business in the country, an Indian will be taking over as country manager. Traditionally, Sandvik?s leadership position has been held by expats and mostly from Sweden.
Ajay Sambrani has been appointed as new country manager for India at Sandvik Asia, the Indian subsidiary of the $ 13-billion Sandvik Group. Sambrani will also be part of the new extended group executive management at Sandvik Group, set up for the first time as the company restructures its global operations. This is also for the first time that an Indian executive has been included in the company?s executive management.
He will assume office in his new role from October 1. Sambrani was president of Sandvik Materials Technology at Sandvik Asia since January 2011 and prior to that he was VP and product unit head for the tube facility of Sandvik Materials Technology at Mehsana in Gujarat.
The only other member of the new extended group executive management will be from the company?s China operations, indicating the growing importance of the Indian and Chinese operations at Sandvik. ?India plays an important role for Sandvik strategy for emerging markets. We have a great opportunity to grow in this country and leverage the competence and strength we have built over the last 50 years,? he said.
Sandvik will have five business areas instead of the current three business areas effective January 1, 2012. The five business areas will be Sandvik Mining, Sandvik Machining Solutions, Sandvik Materials Technology, Sandvik Construction and Sandvik Venture. Sandvik has decided to relocate the official group headquarters to a new office in Stockholm from where the group executive management will operate. The reconstituted executive management at Sandvik Group will be effective from January 2012
Olof Faxander, Sandvik Group?s president and CEO, said the purpose of the new strategy was to achieve world-class performance in value creation through higher growth and profitability and thereby make Sandvik an even more attractive company. ?To succeed with the new strategic direction and to increase transparency and operational focus the organisation will be split in five Business Areas instead of three and a stronger platform for utilising common resources will be developed,? Faxander said.