Ceat names Anant Goenka vice chairman, Banerjee to become MD & CEO

A new managing director and chief executive officer will take the helm of Ceat Ltd. from 1 April 2023. The Indian tyre maker has appointed current chief operating officer Arnab Banerjee as successor to Anant Goenka in both positions for a term of two years. On this date, Goenka will become Ceat’s vice chairman and in this role will lead parent company RPG Enterprises into “new business segments.”

Anant Goenka has been managing director and chief executive officer of Ceat since 1 April 2012 and is credited with contributing to a “significant transformation” within the tyre maker’s technology, branding and production capabilities during the past decade. During this time the company’s market capitalisation grew from Rs 3.7 billion to Rs 58 billion (£576.4 million). Ceat shares that Anant, son of RPG group chairman Harsh Goenka, will “now take up strategic functions at the group level for its next stage of growth.”

“Anant has had an exciting time at Ceat and has been able to lead the company through a transformative phase where technology, brand-building and capacity-creation have been the key themes,” states Harsh Goenka, chairman of Ceat and RPG Enterprises. “As vice chairman of the company, I am sure he will be able to focus more on specific subjects besides his deeper engagement in driving new businesses at the group level. I wish Arnab and his team success as they take Ceat to a new phase of growth and excellence.”

Banerjee groomed for top job

Arnab Banerjee has more than 30 years of executive experience at firms such as Ceat, Marico and Berger Paints. Arnab is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, IIM Kolkata and IIT Kharagpur. He joined Ceat in 2005 as vice president, sales and marketing. Under his leadership, Ceat has seen innovation in marketing, digital capabilities, sales and distribution strategy, manufacturing flexibility and seamless supply chain processes. Ceat shares that its Board of Directors has been “grooming” Banerjee to “take over the top post at the company,” giving him company-wide exposure as its chief operating officer.

Effective 1 April 2023, Banerjee will also become chairman of the company’s Finance & Banking Committee. Anant Goenka continues to serve as chairman of Ceat’s Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee.