Arushi Sakhuja
On 29 August, German luxury car giant Mercedes Benz announced the appointment of their first-ever Indian Managing Director, Santosh Iyer. Iyer has been a part of the Mercedes Benz family since 2009. He has played a pivotal role in his current position as Vice President – Sales & Marketing at Mercedes-Benz India. Owing to his performance, the brand announced his promotion to Managing Director and CEO, making him the first Indian MD & CEO of Mercedes-Benz in India. He will be replacing current MD & CEO Martin Schwenk who has been in the role since 2018 with effect from January 1, 2023. Schwenk will be taking on the global role as CEO, Mercedes Benz, Thailand.
We are delighted to announce that Santosh Iyer will be elevated as the Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, effective 1-January, 2023. He is currently associated with Mercedes-Benz India as the VP-Sales & Marketing. We wish him the best as he embarks on a new journey. pic.twitter.com/8ceSukJS5d
— Mercedes-Benz India (@MercedesBenzInd) August 29, 2022
Associated with Mercedes Benz India since 2009, Iyer has been in diverse leadership roles, but in the role of vice president, sales and marketing, he successfully lead Mercedes-Benz’s digital transformation and achieved the highest ever sales online. He steered the business towards profitable growth during the pandemic. Subsequently, he also played an active role in conceptualising and implementing the ‘Retail of the Future’ business model. Today, Mercedes Benz India has recorded a 56 per cent increase in sales in the first half of 2022. As of early July 2022, the carmaker had its highest-ever order bank of over 6,000 units.
Further, Iyer will be creating history as he becomes the first-ever Indian CEO (since 1994 when the company entered India) and at 46, among its youngest. What makes this moment more glorious is that with Iyer taking over, all three top German luxury carmakers BMW, Audi, and Mercedes Benz have Indians leading the companies. Vikram Pawah is the CEO & President and CEO of BMW India and Balbir Singh Dhillon is the head of Audi India.
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