Tata Motors MD Karl Slym dies in Bangkok hotel

Post-mortem to reveal cause of death today; firm may appoint interim MD

Tata Motors Managing Director Karl Slym died on Sunday in Bangkok, where he had gone to attend a board meeting of the company’s Thai arm. Slym, 51, who had joined the company in October 2012, is survived by his wife.

The circumstances of Slym’s death were not immediately known but a spokesperson for Tata Motors said he seemed to have fallen from a high floor of a hotel in Bangkok. A post-mortem, which will reveal the exact cause of death, will be carried out on Monday. Slym and his wife were scheduled to return to Mumbai in the evening.

“The company shares the grief of Karl Slym’s wife and family at their irreparable loss,” Tata Motors said in a statement.

“Karl was a valued colleague who was providing strong leadership at a challenging time for the Indian auto industry. In this hour of grief, our thoughts are with Karl’s wife and family,” Tata Motors Chairman Cyrus Mistry said in a statement.

The board of Tata Motors is likely to announce an interim MD in a few days. Sources said Ravi Kant, the company’s non-executive vice-chairman at present, or Ravindra Pisharody,  executive director (commercial vehicles), might be asked to take the role.

Slym’s appointment at Tata Motors had followed the resignation of Carl-Peter Foster, who had spent an even less time as managing director of the company. Foster quit the company due to personal reasons, exactly a year before Slym joined.

UK-born Slym was brought to turn the company’s domestic business around, as Tata Motors was fully dependent on profits generated by the company’s UK-based subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover, till the end of last quarter.

In the quarter ended December, the company had posted a record loss of Rs 804 crore, the single-largest quarterly loss in its history, as an uncertain economic environment dampened truck and car purchases in the country.

Slym, who was known for his out-of-the-box thinking, had joined Tata Motors after a stint at General Motors India. He was responsible for overhauling the entire set-up of Tata Motors — from manufacturing and sales to purchases and distribution.

He was also working on sprucing up the Nano to make it more premium and arrest its sliding sales. Only last week, Tata had launched a more expensive Nano Twist, at Rs 2.36 lakh, with features like power steering, central locking, power windows and bluetooth connectivity.

Slym is also credited with the next-generation petrol engine, Revotron, that is to power most of Tata’s future offerings and redress the company’s poor penetration in the gasoline market.

Before joining Tata Motors, Slym was the executive vice-president at SGMW Motors, China (a General Motors joint venture). Before that, during 2007-11, he was president, managing director & board member of General Motors India. He had spent more than two decades in various positions across geographies at Toyota and General Motors.
WHAT SLYM DID AT TATA MOTORS

• Overhauled operations — from manufacturing, sales & marketing to distribution & purchase
• Strengthened core team by bringing his teammates, such as Akunsh Arora, from GM India
• Mooted the idea of repositioning the Nano
• Under him, Tata Motors launched the Manza Club Class, Safari Storme, several new variants and forms of the Nano, new premium variants of Vista, Sumo Gold, etc
• Credited with bringing petrol engine Revotron, which will power most of Tata’s future offerings; mooted the idea of launching a hatchback and a sedan that will be launched at the coming Auto Expo