BOARD OF DIRECTORS

S K Welling
Chairman

Mr. Welling has rich and wide industrial experience of over 35 years spanning several functional areas such as Strategic Planning, Corporate Restructuring, Industrial Engineering, Project Management, Technology Management, International Marketing and Human Resources Management. Mr. Welling is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Karnataka University and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Leeds, UK. He was the former Executive Director of HMT Limited and HMT (International) Limited.

Aditya M Gokarn
Managing Director

Mr. Gokarn has varied experience in business development, project execution and new product development. He has been instrumental in executing the capacity expansion and technology upgradation programmes of the company over the last 10 years. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru, and a Certificate of Business Excellence from the University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Gokarn joined the Company as Manager of Business and was subsequently inducted on the Board of Directors in 2005 in the capacity of Executive Director.

Mrs. Anuradha M Gokarn 
Non-executive Director

Mrs. Gokarn took over the reins of the company at a time of crisis when her husband and the Founder Managing Director, Mr. M V Gokarn passed away. She served as the managing director of the company for a period of 26 years – from 1986 to 2012, during which she successfully steered the company to a market leadership position and built a strong foundation on which the company continues to grow till date. Her in-depth knowledge of the business and her ability to build employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders ensured that under her leadership, Triton remained continuously profitable and grew at a CAGR of over 14% over two and a half decades. Mrs. Gokarn holds an M.Phil in English Literature from the University of London.

Mr. Prashanth Nayak
Independent Non-executive Director

Mr. Prashanth Nayak is the CEO of Yazaki India Private Limited. Prior to his current position, Mr. Nayak served as the CEO of Jai Group, a strategy consulting firm that focuses on BRICS economies and specifically on the Brazil-India corridor. Mr. Prashanth Nayak is a graduate of the National Institute of Technology Karnataka from where he received his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Communication. He also holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Kolkata.

Mr. Shrihari Mahabal Udupa

Independent Non-executive Director

Mr. Udupa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Science from Mumbai University and a Master’s degree in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai. During his career spanning over three decades, he has held senior positions in the field of Human Resources in large corporates like Kennametal Widia, Oracle, Adani Group, PwC and the Murugappa group. Mr. Udupa has headed the HR panel at CII and has addressed seminars at the national level on Quality, HR, Leadership & Management. He is a certified coach and has done original work in the areas of employee engagement, talent management, succession planning, leadership development, culture building, mergers and acquisition, etc…
In the latter part of his career, he worked in the social sector with Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF) and Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). Mr. Udupa has authored several papers and articles and has co-authored a book on building impactful businesses.

Mr. Appaiah K.B

Director

Mr. Appaiah K.B. is a highly accomplished professional with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In 2002, he commenced his career as a Graduate Trainee at Toyota Kirloskar Motors. Over the years, he advanced to the esteemed position of Department Head within the Quality Planning Division, demonstrating exceptional leadership and expertise. Subsequently, he transitioned to Lexus India, assuming the role of National Manager responsible for Marketing, Customer Relations, and Public Relations and responsible for Brand management.Mr. Appaiah’s proficiency extends beyond his practical experience. He possesses comprehensive training in the Toyota Production System and serves as a master trainer for the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) approach. As part of his tenure within the Toyota group, he was assigned to Toyota’s Asia Pacific subsidiary, Toyota Motors Asia Pacific Engineering and Manufacturing (TMAP-EM), Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Japan where he gained exposure to Toyota’s globally renowned engineering and manufacturing practices.In addition to his professional prowess, Mr. Appaiah is multilingual, with fluency in Kannada, Hindi, and English, alongside his mother tongue, the Kodava language. He also possesses a working knowledge of the Japanese language and has undergone training in Japanese culture, further enhancing his cross-cultural competencies.