Naveen Munjal
Naveen Munjal is the Managing Director of HERO Eco Group and Hero Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. The group has global business interests in Electric Vehicles, Bicycles, Healthcare & Rehabilitation Products, Real Estate and Fitness & Sports Equipment.
Naveen is an MBA scholar in International Marketing from Huron University-London & has an experience of working in various sectors – Automotive, Bicycles, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), International Markets and Electric Vehicles. In a career spanning over 20 years, he completed three successful stints within the HERO Group as Deputy Chief Executive – HERO Cycles Ltd., Deputy Chief Executive – HERO Corporate Services Ltd. and Chief Executive – Hero Exports, before leading the Group’s venture into Electric Vehicles, under the brand – Hero Electric, a wholly owned subsidiary of the HERO Eco Group.
As an entrepreneur, Naveen is widely recognized for his role in shaping the Indian Electric Two-Wheeler Industry as well as his contributions to various forums in the Electric Vehicle Sphere both in India and globally. He was responsible in building the Hero Electric brand from scratch into a leading manufacturer and a marketer of Lithium Ion Battery powered hi-speed 2 Wheelers, the concept of Mobile Electric Bike Assistance, and charging stations for EV’s. His vision has led to introduction of other electric vehicles like Delivery vehicles, E-Karts, Electric Cycles, E-Tippers, etc. for commercial operations in the E-commerce, food delivery, Smart City projects, and the fast-growing segment of E-bike rental and sharing business.
Naveen also led the Electric Bicycle A2B brand to greater heights. A2B with its own bespoke internal motor system, distinct identity, and created an entire range of Ebikes that ride as beautifully as they look.
In 2008, he was instrumental in founding the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), the only representative body of the Indian Electric Vehicle Industry globally. He chairs SMEV as its President. Consistent efforts of SMEV resulted in the Indian Government launching the “National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020”-(NEMMP) and “Fast Adoption & Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles”-(FAME) for the promotion and usage of Electric Vehicles in India. In the past, he has also chaired the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-New Delhi State Council as its Chairman from 2013 to 2014.
HERO Eco Group, with its headquarters in New Delhi, Ludhiana (Punjab) and London, has offices in 7 countries, along with distribution network in more than 27 countries for its Electric Vehicles and over 80 countries for Bicycles.
Naveen Munjal points to the guitar in the background as a short-lived lockdown pursuit. He had decided, like many others, to add a new skill during last year’s forced isolation by learning an instrument. But a short (online) stint with the school of music at the University of California, Berkeley, US, turned out to be too theoretical—Munjal was keen on more practical lessons.
Born in Ludhiana into the Munjal family that owns the Hero brand, he went to The Lawrence School, Sanawar, when he was nine. Boarding school, he says, “pushes you to the boundary”. Once in college, in Ludhiana, he would go to the factory for half a day to understand their various businesses, absorbing everything about bicycles, casting, chain-making, aluminium and forging. An MBA in international marketing from Huron University in the UK followed.
