July 1, 2013: Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has announced a change in its top-level management. In line with the recently announced Daimler Trucks Asian Business Model involving the integration of certain key areas, the first integration involves the R&D of DICV and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC), Japan.

Accordingly, Aydogan Cakmaz, who was until now head - R&D at DICV, takes over as head - R&D for Trucks Asia and will based at the MFTBC headquarters at Kawasaki, Japan. In his role in DICV, he was instrumental in developing the LDT and HDT range of trucks under the BharatBenz range. He will oversee all R&D operations of Daimler Trucks for Asia.

Hidekazo Kanno, who was head - product lifecycle management at MFTBC, Japan, takes over as head - R&D for DICV, at Chennai. He will now report to Cakmaz. In another change not related to the Asian Business Model, Sanjiv Khurana, who was CFO at DICV, completes his term at DICV and takes over as president - remanufacturing division, Daimler Trucks North America at Portland, Oregon, USA. Khurana has been with DICV since its inception. As a key member of DICV's executive committee and several core teams, he contributed substantially to DICV's establishment in India.

Parthasarathy Thota, who was earlier head – L/MDT Trucks project for BharatBenz, takes over as the CFO of DICV. Thota, as head of the L/MDT project, established the BharatBenz portfolio of L/MDT Trucks right from the beginning until its launch in February this year. Prior to his stint at DICV, Thota handled several responsibilities in the areas of finance & controlling at Daimler's Freightliner Division in the USA. All appointments are effective July 1, 2013.

KARTHIK H

Photographs (clockwise from top left): Aydogan Cakmaz, Hidekazo Kanno, Sanjiv Khurana and Parthasarathy Thota.