Micromax, India’s 2nd largest smartphone player and leading consumer electronics brand, has today announced the appointment of Vineet Taneja as its new Chief Executive Officer. He was the Country Head for IT & Mobile businesses of Samsung India before he joined Micromax and he will surely have his work cut out when he takes up the post.
Micromax’s internal management has been through a slew of up and downs lately. It tried bringing in an IPO twice but failed both the times to do so. The company’s co-founder, Rajesh Agarwal was caught in bribery charges last year which was followed by the CEO Deepak Malhotra stepping down. Apple’s co-founder John Sculley will be launching Obi Mobiles in India and the company took away some of the key professionals from Micromax’s team, leaving it in midway.
Despite all the management issues, it has emerged as the number 2 smartphone player in the country and continues to strengthen its market position. Its footprint is increasing globally (it recently launched its devices in Russia) and has reached the top 10 manufacturers globally so it is indeed a force to reckon with.
Commenting on Vineet’s appointment, Rahul Sharma, Co-founder, Micromax said, “Vineet will be an asset in our next phase of growth, his diverse experience will be a great addition to the Micromax leadership in India both from organizational set-up and business growth perspective. Vineet is one of the most respected corporate leaders in the industry and has a great track record of successfully leading diverse brands across sectors.”
Vineet Taneja is a veteran and the man has credentials to back him up. From what we can iner Micromax is all set to become the Indian technology brand that will leave a mark on the global frontier and now they have a new leader too. Let us wait and watch how things pan out.
