BMW India President & CEO Rudratej Singh Passes Away

Rudratej Singh, who recently took over as MD and President at BMW India, passed away on 20th April, following a cardiac arrest. Fondly known as ‘Rudy’ in industry circles, he had joined BMW in August 2019, and has held multiple leadership positions both in the automotive and non-automotive industry. He was also known for his former positions as Global President of Royal Enfield Motors Limited and Vice President of Unilever in Singapore.

Singh grew up in New Delhi. He completed his schooling from Air Force Bal Bharati School, batch of 1990. He graduated in Commerce from Delhi University in 1993 and then moved on to the IMT Ghaziabad to study MBA in Marketing and Finance. In 2014, he undertook Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School.

Singh started his career in 1996 as a Senior Product Manager at the Dabur India Limited. He then joined Area Sales Manager in Hindustan Unilever in August 1998. In 2000, he was then promoted to Sr Brand Manager, within Hindustan Unilever, where he was one of the key people to create the Brooke Bond master brand. Since then, he has held senior positions in the Hindustan Unilever Ltd and Unilever PLC across various developed and developing markets globally.

In Jan 2015, he moved from Unilever and joined Eicher Motors Limited (EML) as their President of flagship motorcycle business, Royal Enfield and member of the Management Team of Eicher Motors Limited (EML). In 2017, Singh was promoted to the Global President of Royal Enfield. During his four-year tenure, he helped Royal Enfield become one of the most profitable auto companies in the world. His efforts also helped grow the company’s market share in India from 3.3%, in 2014, to 6.9%, in 2018. In 2019, Singh quit Royal Enfield after serving for four years and joined BMW India as its President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). 

The demise of Ruratej Singh is been considered a big loss for the Indian automotive industry. BW Businessworld extends its heartfelt condolences to Rudratej’s family and friends. May his soul rest in peace!