Tata Motors gets Daimler veteran Llistosella as CEO – Times of India

MUMBAI: Daimler veteran Marc Llistosella will replace Guenter Butschek as the CEO of Tata Motors. The management restructuring comes amid Tata Motors striving to cut losses at its domestic operations and reduce its debt load.
Llistosella, who is of Spanish origin and holds a German passport, will be the fourth expat to helm the Tata Group flagship after Butschek, Karl Slym and Carl-Peter Forster. He will take charge of Tata Motors on July 1. Until then, Butschek, 60, will continue to manage the affairs, although his five-year term ends on February 14.
Butschek, said Tata Motors, has informed his desire to relocate to Germany at the end of his contract for personal reasons. He, however, accepted the board’s request to continue as the chief executive till June 30, the company said. Speculation about leadership changes at Tata Motors has been on for some time. TOI reported on January 14 that Butschek’s term was drawing to a close and there was no word on his reappointment.

Like Butschek, Llistosella, too, is a Daimler veteran. He spent more than two decades with Daimler, with stints in Germany, Japan and India. The 54-year-old had led Daimler’s entry into India and had launched BharatBenz trucks, which competed with Tata Motors. The brand reached the fourth position in India within 20 months under Llistosella’s watch.
Jaguar Land Rover, the UK luxury car unit of Tata Motors and the biggest contributor to revenue, is helmed by Thierry Bollore, who took charge last September.
“Having been bonded to India for so many years, a new exciting chapter is now opened,” said Llistosella on his appointment at Tata Motors. Llistosella, an experienced commercial vehicle leader, has his task cut out. He will have to ramp up the commercial vehicle business at Tata Motors, as it is its mainstay. The business returned to positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) in the December quarter of fiscal 2021.
Tata Motors is in the midst of transferring the loss-making passenger vehicle unit to a separate company with plans to bring in a partner. “Llistosella takes aggressive actions. Tata Motors has hired him with a clear intention to boost the commercial vehicle business,” said an industry observer.