Bengaluru: TVS Motor is increasingly looking beyond India not just for growth, but also for the people shaping it. As the two-wheeler maker expands overseas and works to revive iconic British motorcycle brand Norton, several key strategic roles are now being led from Singapore, Dubai and the UK, alongside a growing roster of executives with global experience.
This shift is set to get more pronounced in January, when Dubai-based Peyman Kargar takes over as chief executive.
Chairman and managing director Sudarshan Venu and president group strategy Sharad Mohan Mishra are currently based out of Singapore, while Kargar, currently the president of international business, is based out of Dubai, as per company announcements, their professional LinkedIn profiles and two persons in the know.
The company had earlier this year also appointed former executive director Nick Rogers as its president and chief technology officer, based out of Bengaluru and Oxford in the UK.
Moreover, JLR chief creative officer Gerry McGovern had been hired as chief creative advisor for the company’s Norton brand in 2025, which ran into controversy earlier this year. McGovern finally left JLR in March 2026.
The controversy related to conflict of interest in the hiring. In an objection filed with the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner in April, former member Mehli Mistry had alleged a conflict of interest in TVS Motor chairman emeritus Venu Srinivasan, another trustee who also serves as a Tata Sons board member, hiring McGovern to work for his company.
The top brass hiring approach of TVS coincides with its efforts to revive UK’s Norton Motorcycles and ramp up exports after the company overtook Yamaha to become world’s third largest two-wheeler maker, as per data compiled by Autocar Professional.
“The roles responsible for execution of strategy are based out of India but the strategic roles are increasingly based in Singapore,” one of the persons mentioned above said.
Gaurav Gupta, president of the company’s India two-wheeler business, Aniruddha Haldar, head of EV and commuter motorcycle business and Vimal Sambly, head of premium business, are all currently based in India.
The new chief executive, Kargar, will take over from outgoing chief executive K.N. Radhakrishnan in January. He comes with an experience of working with Japan-based Nissan and French firm Renault, joining TVS as president international business in May 2025.
Notably, Kargar has never worked with an India-based automaker before TVS.
Since the announcement on the new chief executive on Friday, TVS shares have fallen by 5% as against a 1.9% decline in Nifty Auto.
Responding to Mint‘s queries, a company spokesperson said TVS’s strategy reflects its strategic priorities across India and the global markets.
“Our global talent strategy builds on the strong foundation of talent, capabilities and leadership across the business, bringing together an exceptional mix of experience and expertise from markets around the world to further strengthen the organization and delight our customers,” the spokesperson said.
“This combination of deep market understanding, engineering excellence and global experience has supported strong business performance in India and internationally, strengthened our leadership in electric mobility and contributed to the continued expansion of our global business,” the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson said the new chief executive Kargar brings extensive global automotive experience, has already played an important role in the growth of international business, and will be based in Bengaluru. Incumbent chief executive Radhakrishnan is also based in Bengaluru.
Looking outwards
The company’s approach of looking outwards for new leaders gathered steam after Venu, the son of chair emeritus , took over as chairman in August last year.
Two-wheeler makers are increasingly seeing a shakeup in leadership strategy, with Hero MotoCorp also picking top executives with experience from outside the industry as it prepares to shift focus on premium vehicles, exports and electric vehicles.
According to financial year 2026 data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), TVS Motor’s two-wheeler sales in the domestic market grew 20% to 4.2 million units while exports saw a 27% rise to 1.4 million units.
The company has abosrbed a loss of nearly ₹2,000 crore to revive its British luxury motorcycle brand Norton, which is preparing for a phased expansion across the UK, Europe, India and the US in fiscal year 2027 (FY27). TVS had acquired the iconic brand in 2020 for ₹153 crore.
Eyeing potential
Experts said TVS’s strategy on overseas hires reflects a changing approach, where it is increasingly looking outwards for its next phase of growth in the international markets to tap the vast potential.
“The next wave of value creation is less likely to come from incremental improvements in local execution and more from global market access, technology partnerships, cross-border ecosystems and diversified revenue streams,” said Arjun Kasturia, client partner of automotive, mobility & industrials at Amrop India, an executive search and leadership advisory firm.
“We are also seeing a shift from product-centric to ecosystem-centric business models, where growth depends on the synchronized performance of existing capabilities, acquired assets, strategic partnerships and go-to-market alliances,” Kasturia added.
In April, TVS signed a joint development agreement for electric with Hyundai Motor Group as part of its efforts to tap its product expertise. Mint reported on 24 June that the two companies are also testing a ride-hailing app to deploy these electric three-wheelers in Gurugram, Haryana.