Philippe Divry appointed as the MD of Volvo India

The Economic Times (Mumbai) - The Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction equipment maker on Tuesday announced the appointment of Philippe Divry as the new managing director of Volvo India Pvt. Ltd (VIPL), and senior vice president, Truck Joint Ventures India, Volvo Group.

As MD for VIPL, one of the three legal entities of the Volvo Group in India besides Volvo Buses India and VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), Divry will oversee the resourcing and optimization of the Volvo Group's 4000-plus workforce in India and support the ambitious growth plans of the Group's different business areas and functions.

In this role, he becomes the statutory head of the Volvo Group organisation in India. A senior vice president at Group level, he is the highest ranking executive of the Volvo Group ever positioned in India, said the statement issued by the company on Tuesday.

"India is in an exciting growth phase with growing prosperity and an increasing focus on investing for the future through infrastructure. The Volvo Group recognises India as one of the strategic markets for the future and is committed to develop its operations and deliver increased customer satisfaction here.

Nearly half of the Volvo Group Executive Team is part of the new Board of Directors for Volvo India Pvt. Ltd., a sign of our commitment to India", said Par Ostberg, executive vice president, Truck Joint Ventures, Volvo Group.

Divry also joins as a Board Member of the Volvo Group's joint venture company VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), which comprises the entire Eicher Motors truck and bus operations and the distribution of the Volvo Trucks vehicles. He will therefore be responsible for the overall performance of the truck business in India.

In addition to this, Divry will play a key role in interfacing between the Volvo Group Truck organisations such as Group Trucks Technology and Group Trucks Operations and their relations with the Volvo Group's joint venture companies such as VECV, especially in areas such as business development, synergy projects and know-how transfer.

This appointment follows the launch of Volvo Group's new organisation globally earlier in 2012, which restructured its global Trucks business and created a new Division, Truck Joint Ventures, focusing on the two biggest markets of the world, India and China, where the Volvo Group has significant partnerships.

This Division is led by Par Ostberg, Executive Vice President and a member of the Volvo Group's Executive Team. Divry will be based in Bangalore, India and will report directly to Par Ostberg.

47 year old, Philippe Divry has over two decades of experience in the commercial vehicles and automotive industries, both at Renault Trucks and in the Volvo Group. He has a background in operations and project management, and was head of Volvo Powertrain France from 2003 to 2008.

He also held significant positions in business development and strategic planning, and was since 2009 head of global product and marketing for Volvo Bus Corporation in Sweden.

He has been part of significant cooperations with international partners and has exercised responsibilities as Board member in companies such as Prevost Cars in North America, Sunwin Bus Corporation (China), and Volvo Logistics (Sweden).