1994 — 2024. Thirty years, one continuous arc.
- Graduate Trainee
Began career in the friction industry R&D division, learning formulation, manufacturing and validation from the ground up.
- Senior Manager — R&D
Led formulation development programmes and process establishment for commercial vehicle drum linings and disc pads.
- Assistant General Manager — R&D
Expanded scope into raw material development and validation infrastructure, including dynamometer and vehicle testing.
- General Manager — R&D
Secured ECE R90 regulatory approval for the European aftermarket and delivered OEM approvals for Tata Motors, Daimler India, Eicher Motors and Ashok Leyland.
- Vice President — R&D
Owned the full R&D charter — formulation, process, validation, mentorship — across passenger and commercial vehicle programmes for Indian and international markets.
- Independent Consultant
Now advising deep-tech startups, OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers on friction, tribology and composite material programmes worldwide.
What the years actually shipped.
- 01OEM approvals secured: Tata Motors, Daimler India, Eicher Motors, Ashok Leyland
- 02ECE R90 regulatory approval delivered for European aftermarket
- 03Copper- and lead-free formulations using metal sulfide chemistries
- 04High-strength carbon fibre integration into next-generation friction materials
- 05Euro 6-compliant OEM-fitted formulations for multiple vehicle makers
- 06EV braking programmes — early work on regenerative braking noise control