Executive Leadership Transition At Meritor

Global powertrain supplier Meritor, Inc. has announced that Jay Craig, chief executive officer and president, will transition to the role of executive chairman of the board of directors on Feb. 28, 2021. Chris Villavarayan, executive vice president and chief operating officer, has been selected to succeed Craig as CEO and president at that time and will also join the company’s board. Meritor’s current chairman, William R. Newlin, will become lead director of the board as part of the transition plan.

“On behalf of the entire board, I would like to thank Jay for his stewardship and commitment to Meritor,” Newlin said. “Under Jay’s leadership, Meritor has expanded its product portfolio, strengthened its financial foundation and delivered significant value to shareholders. We look forward to his ongoing contributions as executive chairman of the board.

“As Jay transitions to his new role, we are fortunate to have Chris, who has overseen global operations for the company, in addition to product and customer strategy and supplier relationship management, step in as CEO to help usher in the next phase of growth and innovation.”

Villavarayan joined Meritor in June 2000, and currently serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer where he has global operating responsibility for both of Meritor’s business segments, Global Truck and Aftermarket & Industrial and Trailer. Prior to that, he served as senior vice president and president of Meritor’s Global Truck segment since January 2018.

Earlier, Villavarayan served as president of Truck Americas, responsible for Meritor’s Commercial Truck, Defense and Specialty businesses in North and South America. He also had responsibility for Meritor’s Global Components Engineering, Product Validation and Materials Engineering, as well as Engineering and Program Management. Also at Meritor, he served as vice president of Global Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management and managing director for Meritor’s operations in India, leading Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems (India) Ltd.