Renault Nissan Automotive India and Nissan India Operations have announced new executive appointments. Biju Balendran has been appointed as managing director and CEO for Renault Nissan Automotive India (RNAIPL) and Sambath Kumar as Chief Finance Officer for Nissan India Operations.

In their new roles, Biju Balendran will be responsible for all the manufacturing operations of the Renault-Nissan Alliance factory at Oragadam, Chennai while Sambath Kumar will lead finance for Nissan India Operations (Nissan Motor India and Renault Nissan Automotive India).

Commenting on their appointments, Thomas Kuehl, president - Nissan India Operations, said “As a part of the Nissan India Strategy, we aim to substantially increase plant utilization, enabling greater efficiency and build capacity to develop products which meet the expectations of Indian customers. Under Biju, the manufacturing plant will serve as a key contributor to the growth of Nissan in India. I also want to take the opportunity to thank Colin MacDonald, outgoing MD and CEO, RNAIPL, for his contribution and leadership during the last five years.”

“Sambath has played a key role in setting up the finance function for Nissan India. His strong financial and analytical skills will help us continue to execute our strategy in Indian market,” added Kuehl.

Biju Balendran, who has over two decades of experience in automobile manufacturing in India and international markets, joined RNAIPL in 2008. He has previously worked in various functions, including the Head of Stamping at the Nissan South Africa Plant in Pretoria. Based in Chennai, Biju will report to Thomas Kuehl, President – Nissan India Operations in India, and functionally to Sakamoto Masahiro, RVP Monozukuri, AMI, Nissan and Pascal Felten, RSVP Alliance, Africa Middle East and India (AMI) Monozukuri.

After successful completion of his tenure at RNAIPL, Colin MacDonald will move on to a new role based in Europe.  

Sambath, an industry veteran with over two decades of experience, has played key roles in finance, internal controlling, audit and strategic planning. He joined Nissan in 2009. In this new position, he will be based in Chennai and report to Thomas Kuehl and Jay Cook, RVP Finance and GA, AMI Nissan.