Former General Electric South Asia president and chief executive Banmali Agrawala has joined Tata Sons as president - infrastructure, defence and aerospace.
Agrawala will report to Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran.
“The Tata group has a significant footprint in the infrastructure, defence and aerospace sectors. Banmali’s global experience in these industries will be beneficial as we build scale and aspire for the next phase of growth. As part of the Tata Sons leadership team, his knowledge in several areas, including leadership development, digital infrastructure, innovation and technology, will be beneficial to the Tata group,” said Chandrasekaran in a statement.
“I was privileged to be part of GE for close to six years and have learnt a lot at GE. I look forward to taking all my learnings and experience from GE onto my new role at Tata Sons,” Agrawala said.
Agrawala will head the conglomerate's realty and infrastructure cluster which includes companies such as Tata Power Company, Tata Realty and Infrastructure, Tata Housing and Voltas, The Economic Times reported.
Agrawala is being brought in by Tata Sons to formulate a strategy for its realty and infrastructure businesses, the report said.
This will be Agrawala’s second stint with the Tata group. Previously, he worked as executive director for strategy and business development at Tata Power. He left Tata Power in 2011 after a three-year stint.
A mechanical engineer, Agrawala had also worked with Wartsila and Bajaj Auto.
Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868, the Tata group is a global enterprise, comprising over 100 independent operating companies. The group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents. Tata Sons is the principal investment holding company of Tata companies.
In 2016-17, Tata companies collectively reported revenues of over $100.39 billion. These companies together employ over 695,000 people.
Tata companies with significant scale include Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Teleservices, Titan, Tata Communications and Indian Hotels.