Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc. named President Swamy Kotagiri, 51, as its next CEO, effective Jan. 1.
The 21-year company veteran will succeed Don Walker, 64, who will retire as CEO at the end of the year.
“Given Swamy’s role in aligning the company’s strategy with the megatrends impacting new mobility and the ‘car of the future,’ he is the right leader to take Magna forward,” William L. Young, chairman of Magna’s board of directors, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Kotagiri has more than 25 years of automotive industry experience, 21 of which have been with Magna. He had previously served as Magna’s chief technology officer. He becomes the company's sixth CEO dating back to its founding by Frank Stronach in 1957.