The Gearhead CEO Under the leadership of Vikram Pawah, president and CEO, BMW Group India, the company has successfully stood ground in a fiercely competitive environment and gained significant momentum in both Indian and Australian luxury car markets
By Shrabona Ghosh •
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"Tell me, and I forget, teach me, and I may remember, involve me, and I learn," said Benjamin Franklin, an American polymath. A leader who wants to lead always involves opinions, "Learning is best done at the place of work, there is no amount of theoretical learning that can prepare you for the real deal," says Vikram Pawah, president and CEO, BMW Group India.
Under the leadership of Vikram, BMW Group has successfully stood ground in a fiercely competitive environment and gained significant momentum in both Indian and Australian luxury car markets. Pawah brought excellent preconditions to navigate BMW Group India in a challenging business situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fast forward, the first half of 2023 has been fantastic for the group as it broke all records. It had the best quarterly sales and clocked the best half-year sales across all three brands – BMW, Mini and BMW Motorrad.
With evolving technologies, companies need to adapt, innovate, learn and implement the latest trends. Case in point: Artificial Intelligence, "Artificial Intelligence will transform the way we work and make vehicles. The use of AI is an integral part of the digital transformation at the BMW Group. We are already using AI along the entire value chain, generating added value for customers, products, employees and processes - be it 3D visualization, development of newer automotive technologies, and virtualization within the BMW iFactory strategy model – Lean, Green and Digital," the CEO explains.
In order to stay ahead of the curve, BMW is taking its technology involvement a notch higher with its 'Digital Boost' training program which increases technical knowledge base, increases confidence in technological tools and ultimately ensures the participation and involvement of all its employees in contributing towards the company's digital future. Sharing insights into revolutionization of its factory planning, the president says, "Taking the virtual production in Plant Debrecen will be a revolution in factory planning. All BMW plants will be digitized using 3D laser scanning in 2023. They will have a digital twin!"
As a priority market, India presents tremendous potential for future growth and development of the luxury automotive segment. Pawah's strategic thinking, hands-on approach and ability to drive people would bolster BMW's growth in India.
