Gopalakrishnan does not seek re-election on Tata Motors board

R Gopalakrishnan, executive director of Tata Sons, the promoter company of all key companies of the Tata Group, has decided against a re-election on the board of Tata Motors, as he retires by rotation in the upcoming 65th annual general meeting of the company.

An IIT Kharagpur alumnus, Gopalakrishnan joined the Tata Motors board in 1998. He is at present on the board of other Tata Group companies such as Tata Power, Tata Chemicals and Rallis India. He was the vice-chairman of Hindustan Lever earlier.

In the annual report released by Tata Motors today, the company seeks to pass the resolution relating to the retirement of Gopalakrishnan at the AGM to be held on September 1. The board has further decided to not elect any individual in his place and that the post be kept vacant.

Further, former Indian ambassador to the United States, Ranendra Sen, who had been appointed as an additional director on the Tata Motors board, will seek a re-appointment at the AGM, stated the annual report.

Sen, who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1966, was appointed as the additional director with effect from June 1. Sen was the joint secretary to successive prime ministers responsible for foreign and defence policies and atomic energy among other things.

During his 43 years as public servant, Sen participated in about 180 multilateral and bilateral summits.

Meanwhile, Carl-Peter Forster, group chief executive officer and managing director, Tata Motors, will be eligible for re-appointment as additional director on the board. He was appointed additional director with effect from April 1.

Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Motors, and R A Mashelkar will also be retiring by rotation and will seek re-election.

Following the appointment of Sen and Carl-Peter Forster, the Tata Motors board will have 12 members.

To widen product range at JLR: Ratan Tata
Tata Motors is working on several initiatives, including introduction of all-new models and refurbishment of existing ones, for Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) to meet market demand.

The country’s biggest vehicle maker, which owns the two British luxury brands, was considering the introduction of an all-new entry-level sedan, a new roadster and a station wagon under the Jaguar brand, Ratan Tata, stated in the company’s annual report for the last financial year.

Similarly, the company is also working on revamping and refreshing the entire Range Rover/Land Rover model range. It is working on a new Range Rover, christened ‘EVOQUE’, which will be launched in the international market in due course.

“The current range of vehicles has seen resurgence in demand, and the challenge before the company today is to deliver enough vehicles to meet market demand. China has emerged as the third-largest global market for Land Rover/Range Rover and studies are underway to consider options to increase market penetration in China, India and other developing markets,” said Tata.

In early 2008, Tata Motors bought the two brands from Ford Motor Company for $2.3 billion. After a prolonged drop in demand and deteriorating financial status, the two brands posted their first operating profits less than a year back.

Tata Motors had posted a consolidated net revenue and profit of Rs 92,519 crore ($19.37 billion) and Rs 2,571 crore ($538 million), respectively, for the last financial year. It sold 6,33,862 units, a rise of 34.1 per cent, of cars and commercial vehicles in India. Jaguar and Land Rover wholesale sales for the last financial year grew to almost 194,000 units