From Medicine To Motors: The Story Of Hyundai’s First Indian CEO

On a crisp winter morning in January 2026, when Tarun Garg will walk into Hyundai Motor India’s corporate headquarters as its first-ever Indian Managing Director and CEO, it will be a moment of quiet triumph. For Hyundai, it marks the rise of India from a promising outpost to the beating heart of its global strategy. For Garg, it’s the culmination of a journey that began with failure of the kind that shapes grit.

“Everybody's dream was to make their father happy and Three Idiots came much later,” he laughs, recalling his early years. “My father wanted me to be ...