Thales appoints Ashish Saraf as Vice-President and Country Director for India

French defence and aerospace group Thales on Monday announced the appointment of Ashish Saraf as Vice-President and Country Director for India with effect from June 1, 2021.

In this role, Saraf will lead the company's India business and will be responsible for the strategic growth of Thales in the country across all of its markets, further strengthening local teams, collaborations and innovation, it said.

He succeeds Emmanuel de Roquefeuil who takes up a new role as the VP and head for Thales in the Middle East, a Thales statement said.

Prior to joining Thales, Saraf served as the President and Head of Region for Airbus Helicopters - India and South Asia where he led Airbus" Helicopters' Sales, Services, Training, Innovation, Industrial Partnerships and Government Relations functions across the Civil, Parapublic and Military markets in the region.

He has also served as the Vice-President and Make in India Officer for Airbus, has headed the TataSikorsky joint venture in Hyderabad and also worked with Deloitte Consulting and Dassault Systemes, mainly in the United States and Europe, the statement said.