Ex-Samsung India mobile chief Vineet Taneja joins Micromax as CEO

Vineet Taneja, formerly country head for IT & Mobile businesses with Samsung India, has been appointed chief executive officer of homegrown smartphone manufacturer Micromax.

Vineet will focus on consolidating Micromax’s strong presence in the market, driving global partnerships and strategic alliances while strengthening the organisational capabilities within Micromax.

“This move is a testimony to the vision and commitment of Micromax co-founders to bring in the best talent from the industry at the helm to build a strong organisation and steer Micromax through the next phase of growth by capitalising on immense opportunities in this environment of data devices explosion,” Micromax said on Sunday.

Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma said that Taneja would be a strong partner in the Micromax vision to be India’s first technology brand to leave an imprint at the global level.

The company's former CEO Deepak Mehrotra had quit the firm in October last year, citing personal reasons, and Sharma was managing its affairs.

Noting that there is an inflection point in the smart devices space globally, Taneja said that he would be looking at consolidating and further strengthening the position of Micromax in India.

With over 25 years of experience, Taneja has worked with leading consumer brands like Hindustan Lever, Nokia and Bharti Airtel, prior to Samsung.

According to IDC, Micromax currently holds 16 per cent market share in the smartphone market led by Samsung with 38 per cent. Another local firm Karbonn is third in this space with 10 per cent market share.