Xiaomi India Ropes In Ex-Motorola Exec Sudhin Mathur As COO

Xiaomi India President Muralikrishnan B Quits

SUMMARY

Sudhin Mathur is a veteran in the consumer tech space and helmed the India operations of giants such as Sony Ericsson, LG Electronics, Lenovo India, among others, in the past

Mathur’s experience and his proven ability to build high-functional teams will be instrumental in driving Xiaomi India’s growth agenda, the company’s president said

The appointment comes at a time when Xiaomi is planning to increase the exports of its made-in-India devices and has set eyes on shipping 70 Cr devices over the next decade

Amid plans of expanding its India operations, smartphone maker Xiaomi India has roped in former Motorola Mobility India managing director Sudhin Mathur as its new chief operating officer (COO).

An alumni of Delhi College of Engineering (now Delhi Technological University) and IMT Ghaziabad, Mathur is a veteran in the consumer tech space and helmed the India operations of giants such as Sony Ericsson, LG Electronics, Lenovo India, among others, in the past.

With over three decades of experience under his belt, Xiaomi India will be looking to leverage his industry expertise and deep networks in the ecosystem to fuel its next phase of growth and shore up sales.

In a statement, Xiaomi said that Mathur’s “strategic vision and operational expertise” aligns with the company’s multi-year strategy to make a dent in the Indian smartphone segment.

“… Sudhin’s extensive experience delivering results across diverse businesses, coupled with his proven ability to build high-functional teams, will be instrumental in driving our growth agenda,” Xiaomi India president Muralikrishnan B said on the appointment.

Mathur’s appointment comes at a time when Xiaomi is planning to increase the exports of its made-in-India devices. In July, Muralikrishnan B said that Xiaomi India plans to ship 70 Cr devices, including smartphones, televisions, tablets, and connected devices, out of India over the next decade.

The development also comes at a time when Xiaomi’s position in the smartphone market in India,one of its biggest markets outside China, has been challenged by other players. The Chinese smartphone maker lost the top spot, by number of shipments, among smartphone brands in India for as many as 18 months.

It finally made a comeback in Q2 2024 when it reclaimed the first spot, with an 18% market share and 6.7 Mn units shipped during the quarter, as per Canalys.

Additionally, the company’s profit continues to be in free fall. As per a report, Xiaomi India’s net profit declined 77% to INR 238.63 Cr in the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23) as against a profit of INR 1,057.7 Cr in FY22.

Meanwhile, revenue from operations tanked 32% to INR 26,697 Cr in FY23 from the INR 39,100 Cr in the year-ago period.