Apollo Tyres promotes Gaurav Kumar to CFO

A replacement has been found for Raj Banerji, who resigned as Apollo Tyres’ chief financial officer after less than two months in the job. Gaurav Kumar, previously group head of corporate strategy and finance, has taken on the role and will oversee Apollo Tyres’ global accounts, finance, taxation and investor relations from the company’s headquarters in Gurgaon, India. He reports to vice-chairman and managing director, Neeraj Kanwar.

Commenting on Kumar’s promotion to CFO, Neeraj Kanwar said “Gaurav has been a key member of our strategy team and has played a leading role in numerous projects that have had a significant impact on company’s revenue and profitability. Given his strong track record, within and outside of Apollo Tyres, we believe that he is the right fit for the role of chief financial officer for the company.”

Kumar joined Apollo Tyres Ltd in 2004 as head of corporate strategy, and the tyre maker considers him “an intrinsic” part of its global growth strategy, from its entry into South Africa in 2006 to its acquisition of Netherlands-based Vredestein Banden in 2009, through to the more recent decision to set up a greenfield facility in Hungary. Gaurav Kumar was nominated to the company’s Management Board in 2010. Before joining Apollo Tyres, he was associated with HCL Technologies, SRF and UB Group.

Speaking about his new role, Gaurav Kumar said “I am very happy to be part of a company which has given me such growth opportunities. As we expand our footprint across geographies, and capture new markets, my focus would be on further strengthening our balance sheet.”