Executive Search for Emerging Sectors in India

Roles we fill: CEOs, CXOs, COOs, Business Unit Heads, Country Heads for new geographies, Plant and Site Heads for first factories, Heads of Projects and Commissioning, Heads of Technology Transfer, Heads of Quality and Regulatory Affairs, Heads of Supply Chain and Sourcing, Heads of Sales and Business Development, Heads of Government and Defence Programmes, CTOs and Heads of Engineering.

EV, batteries and e-mobility

Roles we fill: CEOs and Business Heads, Plant Heads for cell and vehicle plants, Heads of Battery Technology and BMS, Heads of Quality and Homologation, Heads of Supply Chain and Sourcing, Heads of Charging Infrastructure, Heads of Sales and Dealer Networks.
Service domain: electric two, three and four wheeler makers, commercial EVs, battery cell and pack manufacturing, charging infrastructure and battery recycling.
Product categories: e-scooters and motorcycles, e-rickshaws and L5 three wheelers, electric cars and goods carriers, lithium-ion cells and packs, battery management systems, chargers.
Market overview: India sold 25,50,865 EVs in FY2025-26, up 25% on the year and 8.6% of all vehicle sales. Electric car sales rose 90%. Under the PLI scheme for advanced chemistry cells, 40 GWh of the 50 GWh target has been awarded.
Global view: cell technology and supply chains are led by China, Korea and Japan, so many Indian plants depend on foreign technology partners and expatriate expertise in the early years.
Hiring challenges: almost no Indian leader has run a giga-scale cell plant. Companies borrow leaders from automotive, chemicals and electronics, and the best are counter offered hard.
Leadership hiring lens: we look for leaders who have scaled a new process plant, managed technology transfer and built quality systems for safety-critical products.
Ownership culture: start-up EV makers move fast and expect founders' pace; large groups entering EVs bring process and capital but slower decisions. The same leader rarely fits both.

Semiconductors and electronics manufacturing

Roles we fill: CEOs and Country Heads, Fab and Site Heads, Heads of Assembly, Test and Packaging (OSAT), Heads of Process Integration and Yield, Heads of Design Centres, Heads of Quality and Reliability, Heads of Supply Chain and Facilities.
Service domain: semiconductor fabs, compound semiconductor units, assembly, testing and packaging (ATMP and OSAT), chip design centres and electronics manufacturing services.
Product categories: wafers and chips, power and compound semiconductors, packaged ICs, display and electronic components, phones and electronic sub-assemblies.
Market overview: 12 projects worth about ₹1.64 lakh crore are approved under the India Semiconductor Mission: one fab, two compound semiconductor fabs and nine packaging units.
Global view: the industry is concentrated in Taiwan, Korea, the US and Japan, and India's first fabs rely on global partners for process technology.
Hiring challenges: India has deep chip design talent but very few leaders who have run a fab or a high-volume packaging line. Many of the right candidates are Indians working in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or the US.
Leadership hiring lens: we map the global Indian diaspora in semiconductors and test for yield, cleanroom operations and ramp-up experience, as well as readiness to relocate.
Ownership culture: joint ventures between Indian groups and global technology partners; leaders must work across two corporate cultures and often two languages.

Green hydrogen, clean energy and climate tech

Roles we fill: CEOs and Business Heads, Heads of Project Development, Heads of Electrolyser Manufacturing, Plant and Operations Heads, Heads of Offtake and Commercial, Heads of Technology and Engineering, Heads of HSE.
Service domain: green hydrogen and ammonia projects, electrolyser manufacturing, energy storage, carbon capture and industrial decarbonisation.
Product categories: electrolysers, green hydrogen and green ammonia, battery and pumped storage, carbon management solutions.
Market overview: the National Green Hydrogen Mission (₹19,744 crore outlay) targets 5 million tonnes a year of green hydrogen by 2030. About 8,000 tonnes a year of capacity was commissioned by February 2026.
Global view: Europe, the Middle East and Australia are building rival hydrogen hubs, and export markets will decide which Indian projects scale.
Hiring challenges: the sector is so new that most leaders come from refining, fertilisers, power and gas, and must learn a new technology and a new business model at once.
Leadership hiring lens: we test project development, offtake and partnership skills alongside technical depth, because many roles are part builder, part dealmaker.
Ownership culture: large energy groups and PSUs dominate, with start-ups in electrolysers and climate tech. Leaders move between them more than in any other sector.

Space, defence technology and drones

Roles we fill: CEOs and Business Heads, Heads of Programmes, Heads of Systems Engineering, Heads of Manufacturing and Integration, Heads of Government and Defence Business, Heads of Quality and Certification, Chief Technology Officers.
Service domain: launch and satellite companies, space applications, defence electronics and systems, drones and counter-drone systems.
Product categories: small satellites and launch vehicles, earth observation data, radar and avionics, unmanned aerial systems, defence sub-systems.
Market overview: India's defence production reached a record ₹1.78 lakh crore in FY2025-26, with exports of ₹38,424 crore. The space economy, about US$8.4 billion, is projected to reach US$44 billion by 2033, and India now has more than 400 space start ups.
Global view: opening the sector to private players has made India a lower-cost partner for global space and defence supply chains.
Hiring challenges: leaders need security clearances, government programme experience and commercial instinct at the same time, and many of the strongest candidates sit in DRDO, ISRO or PSU ecosystems.
Leadership hiring lens: we test programme management, government and defence customer experience, and the ability to turn a funded prototype into a product that ships.
Ownership culture: venture-backed start ups, large private defence groups and PSUs each reward different things; we match leaders to the one they will thrive in.

Data centres and AI infrastructure

Roles we fill: CEOs and Country Heads, Heads of Data Centre Operations, Heads of Design and Construction, Heads of Power and Energy, Heads of Sales and Hyperscaler Accounts, Heads of Site Acquisition, Site Heads for new campuses.
Service domain: colocation and hyperscale data centres, AI and GPU cloud capacity, edge sites, and the power, cooling and construction behind them.
Product categories: colocation space, hyperscale build-to-suit campuses, GPU and AI cloud, managed hosting, power and cooling infrastructure.
Market overview: India reached about 1.8 GW of operational IT capacity in H1 2026, adding 258 MW in six months, 59% more than a year earlier. Capacity is expected to pass 7 GW by 2030.
Global view: global hyperscalers and AI cloud providers are choosing India for capacity, which brings global operating standards and global competition for the same leaders.
Hiring challenges: India has few leaders who have built and run a hyperscale campus. Many come from telecom, power, real estate or global operators abroad, and power and land expertise is scarce.
Leadership hiring lens: we test uptime and reliability records, delivery of large builds on time, and the ability to win and keep hyperscaler contracts.
Ownership culture: Indian conglomerates, global operators and PE-backed platforms all compete here; each moves at a different pace, and we match leaders accordingly.

Ownership culture across emerging sectors: how ownership shapes leadership fit

Ownership type	Culture and what attracts leaders	Retention risk and what we test for
Founder-led, venture-backed start up	Speed, ownership and equity upside; leaders want to build something of their own	Founder fit and comfort with ambiguity; we test how a leader has worked alongside a hands-on founder
New venture of a large Indian group	Capital, brand and long horizons; leaders want scale without start-up risk	Pace of decisions inside a group; we test whether a leader can build inside an established system
Joint venture with a global technology partner	Access to world-class technology and training	Two cultures and two reporting lines; we test cross-cultural leadership and patience with process
PSU or government-linked programme	Mission, stability and national purpose	Process and approvals; we test programme discipline alongside commercial drive

Frequently asked questions

Do you hire leaders for sectors that are new to India?

Yes. Where the Indian talent pool is thin, we map adjacent industries and the global Indian diaspora.

Can you find leaders from established industries who will join a start up or a new sector?

Yes. Most leaders in EV, semiconductors and green hydrogen come from automotive, electronics, chemicals and energy, and we test their readiness to build before they reach you.

Do you hire leaders for first plants in new sectors, such as cell, chip or electrolyser plants?

Yes, including leaders from the global Indian diaspora who are ready to return.

Is the search confidential?

Yes. Outreach is discreet, and the company is named only to the shortlist.

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