JOIN USTata Motors Managing Director Karl Slym on Sunday died after apparently falling from a high floor of a five-star hotel in Bangkok where he had gone to attend a board meeting of the company’s Thailand arm.
Slym, 51, seems to have fallen from a high floor of the hotel in Bangkok, said a company spokesperson, adding that his post-mortem will take place on Monday. The company declined to give more details.
Bloomberg quoted a company spokesperson saying that Slym was staying in the Shangri-La hotel when the incident took place.
A British national, Slym was leading the firm at a time when the auto industry was grappling with prolonged slowdown. He joined the auto major in 2012 as part of a major management overhaul and was responsible for charting out the company’s strategy to regain momentum in the domestic market.
Expressing condolence, Tata Motors Chairman Cyrus P Mistry said: “Karl (Slym) joined us in October 2012, and was a valued colleague who was providing strong leadership at a challenging time for the Indian auto industry. In this hour of grief, our thoughts are with Karl’s wife and family.”
As part of a restructuring exercise, Slym last week had announced a voluntary retirement scheme to a section of employees to rationalise costs.