Key Executives
Ramesh Iyer
Chairman, Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd
Ramesh Iyer currently serves as the Chairman of Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd and is a Board Member of TVS Capital Funds, NOCIL Limited, and Sai Life Sciences Ltd.
He was the Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Mahindra Finance from 2016 to May 2024. Prior to this role, he was the Managing Director & CEO of Mahindra Finance from 1998 to 2016, and Head of Operations from 1994 to 1998. Ramesh has been with Mahindra Finance for over 30 years, contributing significantly to its growth and transformation into one of India’s largest non-banking finance companies in the rural and semi-rural areas.
Ramesh has had a distinguished career in the finance sector. He began his career as a management trainee with a Mahindra Group company in 1979 after completing his MBA from Mumbai University. He worked in various capacities, including the commercial department and raising finances for projects at Golden Tobacco Company. He also gained experience in lending operations at Ashok Leyland Finance before joining Mahindra Finance.
Throughout his career, Ramesh has focused on expanding Mahindra Finance’s operations, launching wholesale and retail lending products, and supporting the company’s growth in rural and semi-rural markets. Under his leadership, Mahindra Finance has achieved significant milestones, including an asset base of over Rs 31,665 crore and a strong presence across 893 branches with an employee strength of 12,816 people.
Ramesh is also actively involved in various industry bodies and organizations. He serves on the Board of the International Organization of Employers (IOE), Geneva, and is a Member of the National Executive Council of FICCI (Federation of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry). He has been recognized for his contributions to the finance sector and has received several accolades for his leadership and vision.
Since 2023, Ramesh has been an active board member of TVS Capital Funds and NOCIL Limited, and since 2024, he has been serving on the board of Sai Life Sciences Ltd.
DR. ANISH SHAH
Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra & Mahindra
Dr. Anish Shah is the Managing Director and CEO of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. He joined Mahindra Group in 2014, as Group President (Strategy), and worked closely with all businesses on key strategic initiatives, built capabilities such as digitization & data sciences and enabled synergies across group companies. In 2019, he was appointed Deputy Managing Director and Group CFO, with responsibility for the Group Corporate Office and full oversight of all businesses other than the Auto and Farm sectors, as a part of the transition plan to the CEO role.
Anish was President and CEO of GE Capital India from 2009-14, where he led the transformation of the business, including a turnaround of its SBI Card joint venture. His career at GE spanned 14 years, during which he held several leadership positions at GE Capital’s US and global units. As Director, Global Mortgage, he worked across 33 countries to drive growth and manage risk. As Senior Vice President (Marketing and Product Development) at GE Mortgage Insurance, he led various growth initiatives and played a key role in preparing the business for an IPO, as a spinoff from GE. In his initial years with GE, Anish also led Strategy, eCommerce and Sales Force Effectiveness and had the unique experience of running a dot-com business within GE. Anish also received GE’s prestigious Lewis Latimer Award for outstanding utilisation of Six Sigma in developing a “Digital Cockpit”.
He has diverse experience with global businesses beyond GE. He led Bank of America's US Debit Products business, where he launched an innovative rewards program, led numerous initiatives in payment technology and worked closely with various teams across the Bank to enhance value for the customer.
As a strategy consultant at Bain & Company in Boston, he worked across multiple industries, including banking, oil rigs, paper, paint, steam boilers and medical equipment. His first role was with Citibank in Mumbai, where he issued bank guarantees and letters of credit as Assistant Manager, Trade Services.
Anish holds a Ph.D from Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business where his doctoral thesis was in the field of Corporate Governance. He also received a Masters degree from Carnegie Mellon and has a post-graduate diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He has received various scholarships, including the William Latimer Mellon Scholarship, Industry Scholarship at IIMA, National Talent Search and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.
Mohammed Turra
MD & CEO, Mahindra First Choice Wheels
Mohammed Turra has been MD & CEO of Mahindra First Choice since April 2024.
Previously, he was the Founding Member and Business Head of Quiklyz, the Subscription Business of Mahindra Finance, a role he held from its inception until March 2024. Under his leadership, Quiklyz captured a 25% share of the vehicle leasing market and developed the largest portfolio of electric vehicles (EVs) on its leasing and subscription platform.
He joined the Mahindra Group in 2015 as Senior Vice President at the Group Strategy Office of Mahindra & Mahindra. Over the next nine years, Mohammed took up challenging assignments in areas such as growth, international expansion, capability building, and strategic projects including Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Shared Mobility. He also managed key group-wide processes including performance review, strategy and planning cycle, NPS, and innovation awards.
Before joining Mahindra Group, Mohammed was a core member of the Financial Institution practice at BCG, focusing on retail, SME, and wholesale banking. He also worked at Unilever, Alstom, and IBM in various business development and client relationship roles.
Mohammed holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Jodhpur.
He is based in Mumbai where he lives with his family.
