BW Auto World 40 Under 40 Winner: Nirmal NR - Dynamic Leadership In Changing Times
Nirmal NR has had a diverse and impactful career spanning various industries and roles, shaping him into the dynamic leader he is today. He began his journey on manufacturing shop floor as a GET at Ashok Leyland. Post which, he transitioned through different functions such as Marketing, Business Development, Operations and Strategy, working with companies like DuPont, OYO, and Zoomcar. That helped him understand issues holistically from all perspectives and marry problems of traditional industries like manufacturing with tech-enabled solutions. More importantly, he was able to understand the trade-offs that he would have to make to achieve the company’s goals.
Nirmal's career highlights include his tenure at Zoomcar, where he served as the first non-founder CEO for India, leading the company through transformative growth. Under his leadership, Zoomcar evolved into a thriving car-sharing platform with significant scalability and profitability improvements.
One of the significant challenge in his career was to steer Zoomcar through the unprecedented Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020. The business came to a standstill, and the team had to find new avenues for revenue including emergency services in the cars, essential supplies and even new business models like monetising their technology stack. But Nirmal's strategic acumen helped transform Zoomcar into a resilient car-sharing platform, adapting to new revenue streams and emerging stronger post-pandemic.
At Greaves Electric Mobility, Nirmal continues to drive success as CEO of 3 Wheeler Businesses. He has successfully integrated disparate 3W businesses, doubled the dealer network, and forged retail financing partnerships, leading to record revenue generation.
