New Delhi: Global defence major BAE Systems has appointed Ravi Nirgudkar as the next managing director of the company in India with immediate effect. His predecessor Nik Khanna has bagged an assignment with the company’s air sector in the United Kingdom and will be taking up the responsibility there.

In a statement today, BAE Systems said Nirgudkar will spearhead BAE Systems’ operations in the Indian market and build on the company’s track-record of partnering with the Indian defence industry. Nik Khanna has concluded his tenure in India and takes up the new role.

Nirgudkar joins BAE Systems from Raytheon where, as country president, he led business development, marketing and strategy for India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He has more than 25 years of experience in international business development and programme management, including 21 years with Raytheon’s intelligence, information and services and space and airborne systems businesses.

“India is a key strategic market for BAE Systems and we are delighted that Ravi will lead the company in the market. Ravi’s wealth of experience, strong business acumen and in-country relationships will be instrumental for us to grow BAE Systems’ business in India and support the expansion of the country’s indigenous defence capability,” BAE Systems Plc group business development director Dave Armstrong said.

“I would like to thank Nik Khanna for his tremendous efforts in strengthening the local footprint of BAE Systems which is anchored in the company’s focus on Make in India,” Amstrong further added.

“I am thrilled to join BAE Systems which has been at the heart of India’s defence industry for more than 65 years and been a founding partner of defence manufacturing. I look forward to working with my colleagues in India, and around the world, and leading BAE Systems’ endeavours to develop further a world class defence and security capability in India,” Ravi Nirgudkar said.

Ravi has business management masters degree in programme management from George Washington University in Washington, DC, and master’s degree in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University. He is also a certified domestic and international capture manager and a Six Sigma black belt.

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