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Mr. Ashok Nayak takes over as HAL’s new Chairman from April 1
(Wednesday). Mr. Nayak succeeds Mr. Ashok K. Baweja, who retired on
March 31. Prior to this, Mr. Nayak was the Managing Director of
HAL’s Bangalore Complex.
Mr. Nayak will be HAL’s 15th Chairman.
Hailing from Honnavara in Karnataka, Mr. Nayak — a Mechanical
Engineer from Bangalore University — joined HAL as a Management
Trainee in 1973. In a professional career spanning over three
decades, he has held key positions in the fields of manufacturing,
quality assurance, production, planning, customer services and
export.
At the Engine Division in Bangalore (1986-1998), he headed
Production Engineering and led the assembly, overhaul and repair of
engines like Artouste, Garrett, Dart, Orpheus, Gnome, Adour and the
Avon series.
As the General Manager of Aerospace Division in 2004, he gave a
major thrust to the manufacturing of GSLV Mk. III structural
assemblies and tankages.
In 2006 he took over as the General Manager of Aircraft Division at
Bangalore Complex and gave a fillip to concurrent engineering and
upgrade of Jaguar aircraft. This period also saw him establishing a
sound manufacturing base for the production of the Pilotless Target
Aircraft, apart from providing impetus to the Hawk and IJT projects.
He brought in an attitudinal change by focusing on exports,
resulting in several orders from many OEMs of aircraft. Lean
Management was propelled by bringing in the Boeing Production System
(BPS), and the Aircraft Division is since working progressively on
BPS.
In July 2007, Mr. Nayak was elevated as the Managing Director of
Bangalore Complex — a mammoth responsibility of leading seven vital
divisions of the Company. Fleet serviceability and customer services
topped his agenda and multiple projects like the Hawk, IJT and LCA
entered various levels of implementation on a fast-track. The
production, exports and turnover of Bangalore Complex saw a marked
rise during his tenure.
We need to grab the opportunities, says Nayak: On the eve of taking
over as the Chairman, Mr. Ashok Nayak said that HAL must grab all
the opportunities to stay atop the global aerospace heap. “With the
offset opportunity and massive new programmes coming up, HAL must
find ways and means to capture all these opportunities for a safe
and secure future. We have made an impact in the international
market and will now have to focus on our exports further to stay
ahead in the race,” Mr. Nayak said. |
