Former Maruti Suzuki India MD Jagdish Khattar passes away

Former managing director of Maruti Suzuki India Jagdish Khattar passed away this morning following a cardiac arrest according to people close to himKhattar 79 a former bureaucrat was considered as one of the most high profile leaders of the Indian automotive industry laying the foundation for Marutis future growth after the government began its disinvestment in 2002 and gradually exited from its joint venture with Suzuki Motor Corporation SMCHe had joined the then Maruti Udyog Ltd in July 1993 as director marketing and went on to become executive director marketing in the next six years He was promoted as joint managing director in 1999 a year that saw various disagreements between SMC and the governmentEven as the government and the Japanese partner continued to squabble over various issues including ownership and technology transfer Khattar had also to deal with industrial relations issues when workers at the companys Gurgaon plant went on an indefinite strike in 2000 demanding wage hikes incentives and pensions among othersIn 2002 when it was SMCs turn to appoint MD they renamed Khattar as their nominee His second term as MD began in May 2002 which was supposed to last till the age of 65 years or end2007 whichever was earlierMaruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava who persuaded Khattar to leave IAS and join Maruti termed him as a first class person and his demise as a big loss both personally as well as for the automotive industryRecollecting his association Bhargava said Khattar was doing exceedingly well as a bureaucrat before joining MarutiIn those days for an IAS officer if you want to come to the company you have to resign take voluntary retirement and leave the service career You couldnt be on deputation So I persuaded him that the future as in Maruti will be much better and he will be able to contribute much more if he came and joined us and gave up the IAS Thats how he came to join Maruti Bhargava told PTIThen Khattar did exceedingly well in the company became the managing director and was the MD right up till 2007 he addedHe had a good long stint and Maruti did well in the period He handled well the strike which was largely a politicallyinstigated strike in Maruti Bhargava recollectedAt personal level Bhargava said I have also known him as an individual we have been friends They khattars are very nice people very good human beings It is a huge loss to usEverybody thought he was a first class personIn 2007 Khattar had retired from the top post in the countrys largest carmaker having ensured that the company commanded 50 per cent of the passenger vehicles market in India despite growing competition from global playersA year after retirement he founded a multibrand car service chain Carnation Auto with many reputed private equity investors including Premji Invest and Gaja Capital backing the ventureHowever his entrepreneurial venture did not reach the heights of success that he achieved when he was helming Maruti Suzuki In 2019 he was booked by the CBI along with his company Carnation Auto India Limited for allegedly causing losses of Rs 110 crore to Punjab National Bank PNBKhattar had however defended himself stating that an exhaustive independent forensic audit at the behest of the bankers did not find any wrongdoings in the functioning of Carnation AutoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever