Kausalya Nandakumar appointed Chief Business Officer at Hero MotoCorp

Hero MotoCorp Ltd. has announced the appointment of Kausalya Nandakumar as Chief Business Officer – Emerging Mobility Business Unit, effective July 10, 2025. In this role, Kausalya will report to Dr. Pawan Munjal, Executive Chairman, and will be responsible for steering the strategic direction and growth of Hero MotoCorp’s Emerging Mobility business—Vida—as the company accelerates its transformation towards sustainable, future-ready mobility solutions

Kausalya brings nearly two decades of leadership experience spanning the automotive, electric mobility, digital innovation, and social impact sectors. She is widely recognized for driving business transformation, scaling high-growth ventures, fostering innovation, and championing diversity. Her appointment underscores Hero MotoCorp’s commitment to shaping the future of mobility through cutting-edge technologies and new growth platforms, including Vida.

Kausalya joins Hero MotoCorp after an illustrious 18-year career with the Mahindra Group, where she held several key leadership roles and played an instrumental role in building and scaling new businesses. Most recently, as Chief Operating Officer of Mahindra Electric Automobile Ltd., she led the operational readiness and go-to-market strategy for the company’s electric SUV business valued at USD 9.8 billion. Earlier in her career, she headed Business Transformation for Mahindra’s Farm Division and was instrumental in building “Krish-e” - the company’s farming-as-a-service platform, driving its strategy, marketing, and operational excellence. At Glyd, Mahindra’s electric shared mobility business, she had endto-end responsibility for operations and the technology platform development.

As CEO of SmartShift, Kausalya envisioned and built one of India’s first digital logistics platforms, transforming it into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. She also led a major CSR initiative for the group and played a pivotal role in advancing the electric vehicle ecosystem by supporting the development of critical enablers such as the vehicle charging infrastructure.

Beyond her business achievements, Kausalya is a passionate advocate for gender diversity, energy transition and social impact. She has contributed to industry bodies such as FICCI’s EV Vertical and SIAM’s EV Mobility Group, and has been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the Kamikazee Best Start-up Transport Company Award and the Exemplary Women Leadership Award.

Academically, Kausalya holds a Master’s in Business Administration (Marketing) from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, and Bachelor’s degree in Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering from Mumbai University. She has further honed her leadership skills through programs at Harvard Business School, Ross School of Business, Shreyans Prasad Jain Institute of Management and Research, and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Quality Management.

As part of this leadership transition, Swadesh Srivastava, who is stepping away for health reasons, will work closely with Kausalya over the coming weeks to ensure a smooth handover. Kausalya’s appointment reinforces Hero MotoCorp’s ambition to lead the next era of mobility—delivering innovation with impact, creating new business models, and driving sustainable growth.