Santosh Iyer becomes first Indian to lead Mercedes-Benz India as Managing Director & CEO

New Delhi: German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz on Monday named Santosh Iyer as the Managing Director & CEO of the Indian operations with effect from January 1, 2023.

Iyer, 46, is currently working as Vice President, Sales & Marketing and would be the first Indian to lead Mercedes-Benz India operations.

Iyer replaces Martin Schwenk who will assume the responsibility as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-Benz Thailand.

"As the company transitions into an exciting future with emerging mobility trends and unending possibilities, I am thoroughly convinced Mercedes-Benz will achieve new heights with the passion, vision and dynamic leadership that Santosh drives in," Schwenk noted.

Associated with Mercedes-Benz India since 2009, Iyer has been in leadership roles across diverse functions including sales, marketing, customer services, communications and Customer relationship management (CRM).

In 2016, he was appointed as Vice President, Customer Services & Retail Training business. In July 2019, he took over as the Vice President, Sales & Marketing leading digital transformation of the business and achieving the highest ever-online sales penetration.

"Mercedes-Benz is at the cusp of transitioning to an exciting, electrified future and it is a privilege for me to steer the internal brand, introduce emerging trends and continue to define new benchmarks for our customers," Iyer noted.