The
managing director of India's biggest carmaker, Tata Motors, has died in Bangkok
where he was attending a meeting. Thai police say they believe that Karl Slym
committed suicide when he fell from a high-rise hotel.
Karl Slym, a 51-year-old British citizen, died on Sunday after falling the 22nd floor of Shangri-La hotel, where he had been staying with his wife.
Karl Slym, a 51-year-old British citizen, died on Sunday after falling the 22nd floor of Shangri-La hotel, where he had been staying with his wife.
Slym had
been in Thailand to attend a board meeting of Tata's Thai affiliate, the
company has confirmed.
"Tata
Motors deeply regrets to announce the untimely and tragic demise of its
Managing Director, Karl Slym, in Bangkok earlier today," said a statement on Sunday.
"Karl
Slym was in Bangkok to attend a meeting of the Board of Directors of Tata
Motors Thailand Ltd."
Note found,
say police
Police said
investigators had found a note left in the room, which was being analysed to
confirm whether it was written by Slym. The note apparently referred to
domestic problems.
"Initially,
we can only assume that he committed suicide," said police lieutenant
Somyot Bunnakaew.
"We
didn't find any sign of a struggle. We found a window open. The window was very
small so it was not possible that he would have slipped. He would have had to
climb through the window to fall out because he was a big man. From my initial
investigation, we believe he jumped," Bunnakaew said.
Indian
press reports on Sunday speculated, however, that Slym might have lost his
balance and plunged to his death.
Slym hired
to revive Tata
Slym was
hired in 2012 to revive Tata's flagging sales and market share in India, the
world's sixth-largest automotive market by unit sales, and led its operations
in international markets like South Korea, Thailand and South Africa.
His death
sent stocks falling on Monday by more than six per cent, closing at 347.80
rupees on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
"His
death comes at a time when the company seems to be close to turning the
corner," Anil Sharma, an analyst with researchers IHS Automotive, told the
Reuters news agency.
"It comes
before his efforts bear fruit. We should be able to see the results in a year
or two," said Sharma.
Provided
leadership
On his
personal Twitter profile, Slym described himself as a "Britisher who just
can't stay away from India!! Crazy for most sports and loves to know whats
going on everywhere!! And hearing from everyone!!"
Tata
Chairman Cyprus P. Mistry said Slym was providing leadership in the company
during a difficult market period, describing him as "a valued colleague
who was providing strong leadership at a challenging time for the Indian auto
industry."
"In
this hour of grief, our thoughts are with Karl's wife and family," Mistry
said.
jr/ipj (Reuters, AP, AFP)
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