chennai tvs motor company has announced appointment of former jaguar land rover ceo sir ralf speth to its board of directors speth is widely acclaimed for his tremendous leadership at jaguar land rover and for transforming it into the global marquee it is today he continues to serve on its board as vicechairman as also on the board of tata sons said a company statement venu srinivasan chairman tvs motor company said it is a momentous occasion for tvs motor company to welcome ralf to its board his passion for technology eye for products and commitment to building brands are truly remarkable his thoughts will add immensely to tvs motor as the company shapes itself for the future ralfs deep insights and guidance will be invaluable to the management team as tvs motor company embraces the future of mobilityspeth began his career in bmw and rose to a very senior level at a young age he did his phd at warwick manufacturing group and later joined premier auto group where he was responsible for product planning and quality later he moved to the chemical giant linde where he ran global operations most recently he was ceo of jaguar land rover for over 11 years making it one of the most respected luxury brands in the world he was knighted by the british queen in 2018 for his contributions to british industry the royal society recognised his passion for science in 2020 for making him a fellow of the royal society a rare honour for a business leader venu srinivasan chairman of tvs motor company will become chairman emeritus effective january 2023 and speth will succeed him as chairmantvs motor further announced the appointment of kuok meng xiong as an independent director mx is the scion of the kuok group one of asias most respected business houses and the founder of venture firm k3 ventures he started his career at the groups shangri la hotels expanding it to europe west asia and sri lanka he started the venture firm k3 where he led early investments in 38 of the worlds leading startups and many asian unicorns some of his early investments include grab bytedance palantir airbnb gopay wizai spacex and many others he is also on the board of many kuok group companies and the advisory board of tpg among others