Samsung hotshot is the new CEO at Micromax

Ambitious Micromax is raising its profile further. After making Hollywood star Hugh Jackman as its brand ambassador, it is now snaring a hotshot from South Korean giant Samsung, Vineet Taneja, to be its next CEO.

Ambitious Micromax is raising its profile further. After making Hollywood star Hugh Jackman as its brand ambassador, it is now snaring a hotshot from South Korean giant Samsung, Vineet Taneja, to be its next CEO.

The hire signals an aggressive thrust in a market in which there are 900 million cellphone service subscsribers but only about 100 million smartphone users.

“It is a great opportunity for me to lead Micromax into its next phase of growth…to complete its transition of becoming a global force to reckon with,” Taneja said.

Gurgaon-based Micromax is already No.2 in Indian smartphone sales.

Taneja, an industry veteran with 25 years of experience, was until recently the head of the IT and mobile (handset) business in Samsung India.

A graduate of IIT, Roorkee and IIM, Kolkata, Taneja, who is expected to join Micromax in about 4 weeks, will focus on consolidating the company’s presence in the market and driving global partnerships and strategic alliances.

He has earlier worked for Hindustan Unilever, Nokia and Bharti Airtel.