Hero MotoCorp has roped in an industry veteran, Arun Jaura as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead the extensive Research & Development (R&D) ecosystem of the company. 

Vikram Kasbekar, who has been leading the R&D function at Hero MotoCorp over the past two and half years, will support Jaura for a seamless transition and continue to work on some key assignments over the coming months. The move is seen in sync with Hero MotoCorp’s sharp focus on its vision, “Be the Future of Mobility.”

Before joining Hero MotoCorp, Jaura was the Managing Director of Michelin India Technology Center since 2017, where he managed the R&D and the sustainability functions, and also represented the Michelin Pune site of more than 1100 engineers and technologists. He started his career with DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization) in 1982 and then moved to Canada in 1992 to pursue a Ph.D. focused on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence for Smart manufacturing. In 1996, he joined Ford Motor Co in Dearborn, USA. He also led and developed the world’s first ever Hydrogen-Hybrid vehicle working in partnership with the Department of Energy in the US.  

In 2005, Jaura joined Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) as Senior Vice President - Product Development for Automotive Sector and subsequently as the CTO. He also had an entrepreneurial stint as well where he established Traktion, a mobility-focused consulting company in 2013. 

Jaura is an M Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (1989-1991) and a Ph.D. from Concordia University (1992-1996), Montreal. He has been one of the founding members of Government’s National Mission of Electric Mobility since January 2013. He has also been working with stakeholders in India’s Hydrogen journey.