On Friday, Tata Motors Limited informed Marc Llistosella, the newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD), will not be joining his designation at the company.
Earlier this year, on 12 February, the biggest automobile manufacturer company announced Marc Llistosella to be the new CEO and MD effective from July, 1. Contrary to the earlier announcement, this time, the company in the regulatory filing said, “Pursuant to Regulation 30 of the Sebi (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 and with further reference to our letter no. 16,258 dated February 12, 2021…, Tata Motors wishes to announce that Mr Marc Llistosella Bischoff who was to join Tata Motors as its CEO and managing director effective from 1 July, 2021, will not be joining Tata Motors as its CEO & Managing Director as previously announced on 12 February, 2021,” the company said in the regulatory filing.
Mr Guenter Butschek, the present CEO, had told of his desire to relocate to Germany when the contract ends, citing personal reasons. He has considered the request of the Board members to continue as the MD & CEO till 30th June 2021. In 2016, Butschek, the former Airbus chief operating officer, joined Tata Motors as its Managing Director and Chief Executive of local operations.
The office leaving Llistosella, in the recent years, had been the part of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, Head of Daimler Trucks Asia as the president and chief executive officer, where his work showed an improving profitability and sales potential of the business. The team managed to reach the second-highest profitability in the Daimler Truck Group.
Before that, he also held the position of managing director and chief executive officer at Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. During his work period, he built a greenfield organisation and business unit that caters to develop, produce and sell trucks. Llistosella is responsible for the launch of BharatBenz in 2012 and its success in a short span in Daimler.
Since April 2019, Llistosella has been a board member at Swedish transport company Einride, which focuses on electric and self-driving vehicles.
Earlier, on the announcement of becoming Tata Motors CEO and MD, Llistosella expressed his gratitude and said, “ I am delighted to become a part of the unique Tata family. Having been bonded to India for so many years, a new exciting chapter is now opened. We would jointly awaken the potential of Tata Motors.”
In February, N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Motors Ltd. on the appointment of new CEO, in the press release said, “Marc is an experienced automotive business leader with deep knowledge and expertise in Commercial Vehicles over his illustrious career and has extensive operational experience in India. He will bring this experience to take the Tata Motors Indian business to even greater heights”.
Tata Motors is again standing on the verge where they have to find the replacement of Marc Llistosella quickly before the tenure of Guenter Butschek ends in June. It means, if failed to do so, the reign may not be having a CEO after the 30th of June. Then, history would repeat itself thrice in the past ten years.
Before having Butschek on board, Tata Motors was without an MD and CEO for two years, 2014-16, after the sudden demise of Karl Slym. For ten months in 2012, after Prakash Telang retired, the company had a vacant office for the post of a CEO.