Meritor recently appointed Chris Villavarayan executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Villavarayan, 49, previously served as senior vice president and president of Meritor's Global Truck segment for two years.
In this new position, he’ll have global operating responsibility for Meritor's Global Truck, and Aftermarket, Industrial & Trailer business segments, and continue to report directly to Jay Craig, Meritor’s CEO and president.
“Chris has a diverse background with the company over a 20-year career, during which time he has demonstrated a proven track record of leading the business to meet and exceed established objectives in all areas,” Craig said. “Chris has the right qualities and skills to step into the COO role as we embark on our M2022 plan, from relevant experience across our business, to his understanding of the industry landscape and a proven track record of high performance.”
Before being appointed senior VP and president of Meritor's Global Truck segment, Villavarayan served as president of Truck Americas, where he was responsible for the Commercial Truck, Defense and Specialty businesses in North and South America. He also had responsibility for Meritor’s Global Components Engineering, Product Validation and Materials Engineering, as well as Engineering and Program Management.
Also at Meritor, he served as VP of Global Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, and managing director for operations in India, leading Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems.
“I am excited about my new role as COO and look forward to helping advance our efforts to becoming the premier technology-driven commercial vehicle company while we continue to exceed customer expectations,” Villavarayan said. “This is an important time in the company’s history as we build on the success of M2016 and M2019 by leveraging our team’s expertise, operational excellence and consistent performance.
“I look forward to continue working with Jay and the entire leadership team as we build on Meritor’s growth strategy."
Villavarayan holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
In addition, as the demand for commercial vehicle electrification grows, Meritor said it will accelerate its efforts to design, manufacture and go to market with a portfolio of technology and products that meet the short- and long-term needs of its global customer base. With Villavarayan’s appointment to operating head of the company’s core businesses, Meritor’s global electrification business now is under Craig.
The electrification business will be led by TJ Reed, vice president of Global Electrification at Meritor, the company said.