*From AutoExpo2023*- as received

 *From AutoExpo2023*

Messiah from *Madhubani* is what I call him. Messiah for what? Good question. *Road Safety.*

Never have I come across a chief executive officer of a company - that too, a multinational making waves not for the company's products or services but for his unflinching thrust on bumping up the nation's dormant road safety sensibilities.

Let us break the suspense if you've not got the hang of the person I am talking about. Meet *Rama Shankar Pandey.* Until December 2022, he was the CEO of *Hella Lighting India* based out of Gurgaon. 

Now what? you may wonder. Since the dawn of January 1, 2023, he shifted base to Pune to be the *Chief Executive Officer of Tata Green Batteries.* 

We have walked together from the southern tip of India to promote road safety to Kashmir in mid- 2018. Of course, the main hero of that tortuous walkathon was Hella India's *Subu* who made the *Kanyakumari to Kashmir road trip.* Much before what *Rahul Gandhi* is currently performing. Unlike Sonia scion's political cause, Ram's was for a social cause.

Pandey, hailing from Madhubani (famous for painting) in #Bihar, is the most unassuming #CEO I have met in my entire life. It would be best if you watched him leading the hundreds that throng him with his gutsy and sincere "Sadak Suraksha, Jeevan Raksha" chant in multiple tones. Unmindful o his corporate stature. What the public may think seeing a CEO-level person walking through the streets across India, raising slogans, does not bother Ram. He is so passionate about road safety. 

Ram is not a ribbon-cutting, clipped English-speaking corner office occupant in the Indian corporate empire. Typical Bihari. I mean, down-to-earth and a thorough professional.

Hella's loss is Tata's gain. 

As he walks into the *IVC Logistics* pavilion at AutoExpo as the sun is packing home after a day's work on the third Monday of Circa2023, Ram is in his usual Nehru jacket. I don't recall him wearing anything but this. (Correct me if I am wrong.)

In a brotherly fashion, we hugged, and post-introduction to our team, we could not help telling him that the gigantic 18.75metre lengthy brand new car carrier stationed in front of him is from the Tata stable and it has a Tata Green Battery to the boot, the company he is shepherding.

Though the photo shoot of Ram accepting the welcome bouquet is completed twice(!), he insists on a photo with the Tata Green battery as the backdrop. How can you deny a Tata group company CEO's wish? We oblige. 

We began the day with a VIP visit: *SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal* (Eicher Volvo Commercial Vehicle boss man, too) came and chatted with us on driver shortage, etc. And we closed the day with yet another VIP visit in the form of Ram. 

Unplanned. What's destined to happen will happen. We were lucky at IVC Logistics.