Schaeffler India has appointed Amit Bhalerao as Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective August 10, 2026. He will lead the company's manufacturing operations across India and oversee operational excellence, manufacturing strategy, digital transformation and capability development.

As a member of Schaeffler India's Executive Leadership Team, Bhalerao will work with business and functional leaders to strengthen the company's manufacturing footprint, improve operational performance and accelerate localisation initiatives. He will also focus on developing future-ready manufacturing capabilities across Schaeffler India's plants.

Harsha Kadam, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Schaeffler India, said strengthening manufacturing and operational capabilities remains central to the company's growth strategy in India. He added that Bhalerao's experience in complex manufacturing operations and operational excellence would support the company's competitiveness, customer focus and innovation capabilities.

Bhalerao brings more than 23 years of global leadership experience across manufacturing, operations, business excellence, lean transformation, quality and supply chain management.

Prior to joining Schaeffler India, he served as Managing Director and Vice President of Operations at Kelvion India, where he led operations and business performance while driving manufacturing excellence, technology transfer and capacity expansion.

He has also held leadership roles at Cummins, Eaton and Sterlite Technologies, with experience spanning lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, operational excellence and strategic transformation.