Thales appoints Ashish Saraf vice-president, country director for India

Rafale vendor Thales on Monday said it has roped in senior Airbus executive Ashish Saraf to head India operations.He succeeds Emmanuel de Roquefeuil who takes up a new role within Thales.Sarafs appointment as Vice-President and Country Director for India has come into effect from 1 June 2021.In this role, Ashish will lead the companys India business and will be responsible for the strategic growth of Thales in the country across all of its markets, further strengthening local teams, collaborations, and innovation.

Rafale vendor Thales on Monday said it has roped in senior Airbus executive Ashish Saraf to head India operations.

He succeeds Emmanuel de Roquefeuil who takes up a new role within Thales.

Saraf's appointment as Vice-President and Country Director for India has come into effect from 1 June 2021.

''In this role, Ashish will lead the company's India business and will be responsible for the strategic growth of Thales in the country across all of its markets, further strengthening local teams, collaborations, and innovation. He succeeds Emmanuel de Roquefeuil who takes up a new role as the VP and head for Thales in the Middle East,'' Thales said in a statement.

Prior to joining Thales, Saraf served as the president and head of the region for Airbus Helicopters - India and South Asia where he led Airbus' Helicopters' sales, services, training, innovation, industrial partnerships, and government relations functions across the civil, parapublic and military markets in the region. Saraf had served as the vice-president and Make in India Officer for Airbus.

He was also the head of the Tata–Sikorsky joint venture in Hyderabad and also worked with Deloitte Consulting and Dassault Systemes, mainly in the United States and Europe.

"I am pleased to welcome on board Ashish Saraf to the Thales Group, who joins us in an extremely challenging COVID situation. Under his leadership, Thales will continue its decades-long partnership with our Indian stakeholders to support the country in this time of need, and once the pandemic behind us, contribute to India's longer-term vision of building an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat','' Pascale Sourisse, Senior Executive Vice-President, Thales said in the statement.

Saraf holds degrees in Management and Engineering from the University of London, Cornell University, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, and Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology India.

''I would like to express our solidarity as the country bravely battles the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. We stand united with our employees, their families, our customers, and the people at large, and look forward to overcoming this pandemic together,'' Saraf said.

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