Qualcomm Incorporated has appointed Sunil Lalvani as Vice-President and President of Qualcomm India. Lalvani was earlier heading BlackBerry’s India operations. He has taken charge of Qualcomm’s India business at a time when the company is facing huge challenges globally and in the local market.

Avneesh Agrawal, who was the senior Vice-President and President of Qualcomm India and South Asia, has quit the company. Lalvani will report directly to Cristiano Amon, Executive Vice-President and Co-President, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

The change in leadership comes even as international media report said that Qualcomm was preparing to lay off 10 per cent of its 30,000-strong workforce. The San-Diego headquartered chipmaker, which reported a 46 per cent drop in second-quarter profit in April, is facing increasing competition from Taiwan's MediaTek Inc and Chinese companies in the market with low-cost chipsets for phones.

For Lalvani though such a challenge is not new. He had taken over the reigns of BlackBerry’s India business at a time when the Canadian company was floundering on all fronts. Though the company is still struggling to get back into the mobile phone market, it has strengthened its position in the enterprise segment. Lalvani’s strengths and relationships in the enterprise market would be crucial for him to get new licensing deals for Qualcomm in India.

“His broad industry experience and extensive leadership experience will enable us to strengthen existing strategic relationships, identify new opportunities for business growth and build new relationships in India,” Amon said.

Lalvani also has worked at EMC Corporation, Nokia Corporation, Cisco Systems and SITA Equant Network (now Orange Business Services). Lalvani holds a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from Bombay University and a post graduate diploma in marketing management from Xavier's Institute of Management, India.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW