Dr.
Lakshmi Venu has taken over as the Managing Director of Sundaram-Clayton
Limited (SCL), one of India’s leading auto components manufacturer at the board
meeting held on May 6, 2022. Dr.Venu was the Joint Managing Director of
Sundaram Clayton.
Dr
Lakshmi Venu is the daughter of prominent industrialists Venu Srinivasan,
Chairman Emeritus , TVS Motor Company, and Mallika Srinivasan of TAFE (Tractors
ad Farm Equipment Ltd) which in turn is part of the Amalgamations Group.
Incidentally,
a day earlier, Dr Lakshmi Venu’s brother Sudarshan Venu was elevated to the
post of Managing Director of TVS Motor Company. Dr Venu was once married to Rohan
Murthy, son of Infosys Ltd founder N.R. Narayana Murthy. They separated later
and now she is married to tech businessman Mahesh Gogineni.
While
Lakshmi Venu holds a doctorate from the University of Warwick and is a graduate
in Economics from Yale University, her husband is a graduate of BITS Pilani and
London School of Economics. He has done his MBA from Stanford.
R
Gopalan, Chairman, Sundaram-Clayton said, “Lakshmi brings deep customer
understanding and has developed strong relationships with global customers. She
has successfully chartered a strategy to have a global footprint to build
competitive advantage. I am confident that she will continue to transform
Sundaram-Clayton into a world class auto component manufacturer.”
Admiral
P J Jacob (Retd.), Chairman, Audit Committee, Sundaram-Clayton said, “The
elevation of Lakshmi Venu as Managing Director in Sundaram Clayton is fitting
recognition of the enormous contribution she has made to the growth of the company,
particularly during very difficult times. She has earned this elevation the
hard way, from the shop floor to the apex of the company. I wish her all the
very best in taking the Company to even greater heights.”
Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus,
Sundaram-Clayton said, “Lakshmi’s focus and dedicated efforts over the last ten
years have seen the company do a turnaround in quality, profitability, and
building relationship with OEMs. She has spearheaded the establishment of our
US operations which has commenced activities recently. We are confident that under her leadership,
Sundaram-Clayton will see its rise globally.”
Accepting
the post of MD, Dr Lakshmi Venu, Managing Director, Sundaram-Clayton said, “It
is indeed an honour to lead Sundaram Clayton to its next phase of growth. The
world is changing very rapidly and disruptions in the automotive industry are
becoming de rigueur. The future promises to be exciting, challenging and
presents new opportunities. We have an excellent team and together we look
forward to strengthening Sundaram Clayton both in India and globally. I hope to
live up to the faith the shareholders, the board of directors, the employees
and the management of the company have bestowed upon me. I am grateful for the
mentorship that I have received from Chairman Emeritus Mr. Venu Srinivasan and
Chairman R. Gopalan who will always remain our beacon lights.”
SCL
is a leading manufacturer of machined aluminum die-castings, producing castings
for the passenger car, commercial vehicle and two-wheeler industries in India
and globally. SCL in India, currently has facilities in Padi, Oragadam and
Mahindra World City near Chennai, and one plant in Hosur. SCL also operates in
US to cater to the demands of its key customers.