Visteon Corp. names Sachin Lawande its new CEO
Visteon Corp. on Wednesday named Sachin Lawande — a former executive at Harman — its new chief executive officer, replacing the outgoing Timothy Leuliette.
Lawande will take over as CEO on June 29, the company said. He will also join the auto supplier’s board of directors.
"After a thorough evaluation of potential candidates, we are confident that we have found in Sachin the perfect individual to lead and transform our company to achieve further success in the rapidly evolving automotive electronics market," Francis M. Scricco, chairman of the board, said in a statement. "Sachin's significant operational expertise and unique combination of experience in the automotive, technology and software industries will be critical as we seek to capitalize on the dynamic growth of the connected vehicle ecosystem and provide our OEM partners with innovative and cost-effective technology solutions."
The 48-year-old Lawande was most recently president of the infotainment division of Harman International Industries since 2013 and as executive vice president since 2009. In his role as president of the infotainment division — the largest division of Harman with nearly $3 billion in annual sales —Lawande achieved double-digit sales and income growth while serving 11 of the top 15 OEMs and leading over 7,500 employees worldwide, Visteon said in a release.
Lawande has held senior roles at QNX Software Systems and 3Com Corp.
"Electronics and software are more important to the automotive industry than ever before, and the newly transformed Visteon is in an ideal position to emerge as the innovation and technology leader in this space to continue to deliver value for customers and shareholders,” Lawande said in a statement.
The company — whose offerings include infotainment systems, instrument clusters and climate control systems — hired executive search firm Spencer Stuart to find a candidate to replace Leuliette after his retirement was announced in March.
Visteon made a number of deals under Leuliette, who took over in October 2012. It acquired the electronics business of Johnson Controls and Cooper Standard's thermal and emissions product lines, sold various lighting and interiors divisions, and merged other business units during his tenure.
Visteon has more than 12,000 employees at 50 facilities in 21 countries, according to a release.
The company — once a unit of Ford Motor Co. — became independent in 2000. It struggled early on and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009. It emerged from bankruptcy in 2010.
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