Raman Rajagopalan appointed MD/CEO of CEAT Kelani

CEAT Kelani Holdings has announced the appointment of Raman Rajagopalan, the company’s Vice President – Commercial and Business Operations, as Managing Director/CEO effective April 2013. He succeeds Tanmay Agarwal.

An Engineering Graduate from Bharathidasan University with more than 20 years of experience in some well-known multinational companies in India, Rajagopalan also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Materials Management from Annamalai University.

In his previous role as Vice President Commercial and Business Operations for CEAT Sri Lanka, he drove large scale conversion cost savings through streamlining the supply chain and built export sales to record highs capturing large scale customers. He also headed the manufacturing operations of CEAT Sri Lanka.

Commenting on Rajagopalan’s appointment, CEAT Kelani Holdings Chairman Chanaka de Silva said: “Raman is noted for his record of strong leadership and practical management style, centred on impact-driven strategies. He is also a focused leader with repeated success in multiple industries.”

In the course of his career, Raman Rajagopalan has worked on start-ups, turnarounds and more. He is an accomplished and results-driven senior management executive with a record of success in driving high value revenue and profit gains, large scale cost savings and improved organisational productivity and performance. He has worked with a diverse set of clients ranging from local Indian companies, multinationals and brands such as GE, ABB, BCH, Wipro, IQARA – a part of British Gas Group, Airtel, Future Group, Wipro and Reliance Communication in senior positions. Prior to joining CEAT Kelani Holdings, he headed operations for My Dollar Stores, a part of the Future Group in India.

A National Business Excellence Award winner in 2010 and 2011, CEAT – Kelani Holdings is a very successful Indo-Sri Lanka joint venture between the RPG Group of India and Kelani Tyre – Sri Lanka. The company operates three manufacturing units manufacturing truck, light truck, radial, motorcycle, three-wheeler and agricultural tyres and employs a workforce of 1000 people. The company achieved domestic sales in excess of Rs. 7 billion in 2012 and exports of Rs. 2.1 billion, and is the market leader in Sri Lanka for commercial vehicle tyres, radials and three-wheeler tyres.