Rudratej ‘Rudy’ Singh, the first Indian-born head of German automaker BMW’s businesses in India passed away on Sunday after a heart attack.
He had taken over his current role in August 2019 after having headed the global business operations for Indian two-wheeler manufacturer Royal Enfield.
The graduate of the Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad had previously served in roles at Hindustan Lever and its global parent, Unilever.
This was the second death to rock the company in under two weeks, BMW India’s marketing head Mihir Dayal passed away on April 7 after a short battle with cancer.
Rudy will be remembered as a smart and innovative marketer with an innate understanding of the concept of luxury.
In a meeting with The Pioneer soon after he took over at BMW, he highlighted how he wanted to pivot the luxury business in India to becoming more experiential rather than being discount driven, and to that end, BMW India was making subtle changes to the way they were marketing themselves.
An avid golfer, Rudy was also well-known for his philanthropic endeavours and his last tweet on the social media platform just a few days ago was to promote a community kitchen in Noida. He is survived by a wife and daughter.
