Ashesh Dhar, Head of Sales, Marketing and Customer Care at the Electric Vehicles segment at Tata Motors has passed away due to a cardiac arrest. He breathed his last on Friday night. Dhar became the Head of Sales, Marketing and Customer Care of the EV segment two years back, as he rose through the ranks after joining Tata Motors in 2011.
Prior to his stint at Tata Motors, he was Vice President – Operations at Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd, showed his LinkedIn profile.
He had been associated with the auto industry throughout his career. After passing out from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, he joined Bajaj Auto in 1991, and then moved on to TVS Motors, where he stayed for a period of 9 years.
Being at the helm of the sales and marketing department at the growing EV segment of Tata Motors, he was a proponent of leveraging digital platforms.
In a recent article amid the pandemic, he had written: "As consumers spend more time at home, the spotlight will now be on accelerating conversations on the digital space. Additionally, there will be a significant reduction in face-to-face marketing events. In such cases, the digital platform provides the best remedy to reach your consumers in a targeted fashion and influence them where they are most active."
He was of the view that Covid-19 will bring in an undeniable change in the marketing landscape and the focus will be to put "people first" as interaction and collaboration take on a new meaning.
"It is important to be honest with your customers about what has changed and surprise them with caring gestures. There is going to be a psychological impact of this lockdown and it is important to focus on marketing efforts that help relieve stress," Dhar had written.
He headed the segment in Tata Motors in a crucial time when the company was betting big on the electric vehicle segment and came up with the Nexon EV. Dhar is survived by his wife, two daughters and his parents.
