Kirti Prakash will head the Renault-Nissan plant in Chennai as an MD

Nissan Motor Company on Friday announced the appointment of Keerthy Prakash as Director of Medical Sciences, Renault Nissan Automotive India, to lead production at the Alliance plant in Chennai from September 1, 2022.

Kirti, currently Deputy MD, Renault Nissan Automotive India, joined the plant in 2008 and has over two decades of automotive manufacturing experience. He replaces Biju Balendran, who decided to pursue opportunities outside of Nissan after four years at the plant, the company said in a statement.

Kirti joined Renault Nissan Automotive as Body Shop Manager in 2008 before being promoted to Senior Manager – Stamping, Body Assembly, Trim & Chassis in 2010.

After being promoted to vice president of automotive and engineering in 2016, he received an overseas assignment at Nissan headquarters in Japan before returning to Chennai in 2021 when he was promoted to vice president of engineering, quality assurance, control of production and organization of spare parts, the company added.

In his new role, Kirti will report to Frank Torres, President, Nissan India, and Roddy McLeod, Vice President, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, Africa, Middle East and India.

Nissan Motor, which is a 100 percent subsidiary of Japan’s Nissan Motor, was established in 2005 and offers products in the hatchback, SUV and saloon segments in India. Nissan, along with its global alliance partner Renault, has a manufacturing plant and research and development (R&D) center near Chennai.