Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, March 2026 — Daimler Truck Innovation Center India (DTICI) has appointed Radhakrishnan Kodakkal as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds Raghavendra Vaidya, who has transitioned to the role of Global Chief Information Officer at Daimler Truck AG.
In his new position, Kodakkal will oversee the expansion of engineering and digital capabilities at DTICI’s Bengaluru hub. His remit includes accelerating innovation in coordination with the global product engineering, technology and IT teams of Daimler Truck.
Before joining DTICI, Radhakrishnan Kodakkal was associated with Whirlpool Corporation, where he served as Global Head of Integrated Technology, leading innovation and advanced development across global teams spanning the US, Italy, Brazil and India. He also served as Vice President & Head, Global Technology & Engineering Center, providing executive leadership for Whirlpool’s technology and engineering center and driving capability development across areas such as IoT, data science, AI/ML, digital simulations, Industry 4.0, AR/VR, mobile applications and cloud platforms, alongside global embedded systems leadership responsibilities.
Earlier, he spent close to 15 years with Philips in global R&D leadership roles, including Global R&D Leader Diagnostic X-Ray / CTO and Global R&D Leader, Surgery Imaging / Head Healthcare R&D Center Pune / CTO, where he led end-to-end product development, technology roadmaps, global R&D strategy, and cross-site integration across multiple geographies. His experience also includes leadership roles focused on building and scaling R&D centers, post-merger integration, and innovation program management. He began his early career with roles at ICT Embedded B.V., ABB, and the Electronic Research and Development Centre, Trivandrum.
About Daimler Truck Innovation Center India (DTICI)
Daimler Truck Innovation Center India (DTICI), headquartered in Bengaluru, was established on December 1, 2021, as an innovation hub of Daimler Truck AG focused on product engineering and IT. DTICI is among Daimler Truck’s largest development centers outside Germany and works across commercial vehicle innovation spanning vehicle and powertrain engineering, ECU software development, CAE/CAD, and IT programming using complex engineering tools and methods. DTICI also highlights its commitment to a diverse and inclusive work environment and providing learning and development opportunities for employees.
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