Following exit of Maneesh Dhir, Apple launches hunt for new India business head

BENGALURU: Apple has launched a hunt for a new head for its India business, following the exit of long-time country manager and former AOL executive Maneesh Dhir, under whose watch sales from India grew from a mere $100 million to over $1 billion, according to three people directly familiar with the developments. When contacted, Dhir declined to offer specific comments but confirmed his departure from Apple. Dhir’s departure marks the second top-level exit from the company’s India business, after Sharad Mehrotra who used to head the company’s enterprise mobility unit in India also resigned late last year to set up his own handset company called Hyve Mobility.

Dhir’s departure also comes at a time when Apple is attempting to open its own-brand stores in India. ET had first reported earlier this week, that Apple India has filed an application to open its own Apple branded stores in India with the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP).

Apple may appoint an interim head for its India business from within the company, while it hunts for a permanent successor to Dhir in the meantime, one of the people mentioned above said. Apple declined to comment.

Dhir joined Apple in 2010 as India country manager. The exit comes at a time when Apple is doubling down on the Indian smartphone market, which has the potential to become a multi-billion dollar market for the Cupertino, Californiabased company, given the explosive growth of handset devices in the country over the past decade.

Apple is currently fighting hard against rivals such as Samsung for a greater share of the smartphone market in a country that boasts of an ever-increasing population of urban, data-hungry consumers.

According to documents filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in November, the smartphone behemoth posted a 44% increase in sales to Rs 6,472.89 crore (about $1 billion) from Rs 4,500.35 crore and net profit doubled to Rs 242.85 crore from Rs 119.48 crore as the company widened its retail network and stepped up marketing efforts, including buyback schemes, instalment programmes and discounts in India.

Apple currently generates close to $1.3 billion in revenues from India, taking into account current dollar-rupee exchange rates, the people mentioned above said, requesting anonymity. Apple currently has less than a 2% share of India’s burgeoning smartphone market and the company is trying to change that and launching an aggressive campaign to increase its wallet share in the country, according to telecom experts.