Arun Kesavan

arun_k7@hotmail.com
Arun Kesavan
Accomplished Product Director with extensive experience driving design development initiatives, P&L oversight and product marketing focused on creating shareholder value and reducing TCO.
Successful in leading key business initiatives, driving product development, changing organizational culture to deliver on strategic vision.
• Expanded product penetration in the global markets focused on customer satisfaction by delivering on their needs, improved quality and increased productivity generating $1+ billion in sales.
• Experienced in leading cross functional teams in a global product development environment with $27M in R&D and complex capital investment per year delivering on strategic commitments.
• Instrumental in changing the business to a complete system solution and actively selling to customers the benefits of automation enabling to win major contracts delivering incremental revenues.

+1 724 591 6507
Township of Cranberry, PA 16066

Product Director, Controls & Automation Joy Global, Inc Warrendale, PA
October 2011 to Present
• Responsible for development of differentiated features and machine controls (hardware & software) with teams in 5 global locations supporting ten machine platforms with an annual R&D budget of $7M.
• Transformed the team from a regional function to a global organization creating a singular focus on customers, improving process efficiencies yielding 18% operational savings.
• Formulated and gained coalescence behind a robust, actionable engineering strategy and product roadmaps. Introduced new product enhancements and features generating $245M incremental revenue over 3 years.
• Forged agreements with key technology houses establishing exclusive offerings globally improving margins, competitive advantage and creating “win-win” partnerships.
• Increased flexibility and capability of the team with improved utilization of the boundaryless workforce with our service partners in India

New Product Development Manager Caterpillar, Inc Decatur, IL
January 2004 to September 2011
• Managed and developed the next generation off-highway truck (100T) to meet EPA tier 4 regulations with $800+M revenue. Delivered the product on-time with NPV of $29M.
• Provided direction and leadership to team members from marketing, manufacturing, engineering, product support, accounting, and supply chain in a matrix organization across the enterprise to ensure progress and delivered on performance, cost reduction, margin and quality goals.
• Introduced new truck bodies tailored for various applications creating shareholder value with NPV of $6.5M with 79% IRR. Generated $9M in revenue with incremental profit of $4M.
• Outlined global machine platform strategy and associated product benefits to reduce total cost by 9% per machine with flexible global capacity delivering an emerging market machine built in India.
• Led large engine LNG conversion team to outline business opportunity, strategic solution and recommendation to implement. Results showed $31M NPV with $39M investment over 3 years.
• Identified, localized and built a version of the 100T machine in Russia to support business viability and sustain margins.

Hydraulic Systems Team Leader, Motion & Power Controls Division, Decatur, IL

• Responsible for development, validation and implementation of hydraulic system for off-highway truck products with an annual budget of $2.3M. The team successfully launched new models in 2006 with improved system features & component performance that improved reliability and durability.
• Developed a new brake controls strategy and successfully implemented with minimal impact on hardware and new software that’s far more responsive and reduced system cost.
• Successfully implemented product improvements using 6 Sigma that resulted in cost savings and benefit of $1.9M across the entire value stream.

Sr. Design Engineer, EH Brake & Fan COE, Motion & Power Controls Division, Joliet, IL

• Responsible for development of EH demand fan drive systems to meet noise regulations and EH brake controls to meet ISO requirements. Led several 6 Sigma projects to improve sub system performance and quality yielding level 1 benefits of $1.2M.
• Achieved $675K in cost reduction through system integration and component commonality by developing a family of medium duty EH fan system for Medium Wheel Loaders and Motor Graders.

Sr. Project Engineer Advanced CAD/CAM Service Peoria, IL
April 1997 to December 2003
On-Site at Motion & Power Controls Division, Caterpillar Inc.

• Responsible for design and development of EH fan systems which led to the formation of Fan, Steering and Brake Center of Excellence.
• Developed test plans, conducted EH valve test and fan system endurance test to validate performance and system stability.

Project Engineer, On-Site at Parts Support and Sales Division, Caterpillar Inc.

• Responsible for all Wheel Loader Ground Engaging Tool (G.E.T.) projects. Designed and developed new wear components and system of G.E.T. (castings and forgings) to meet customer requirements.
• Conducted finite element analysis to validate developed design.
• Innovated several tip, adapter and retention designs generating additional parts revenue

Project Team Leader, Design & Analysis

• Lead a team of engineers and finite element analyst to delivers on various development projects for Caterpillar Inc., L.R. Nelson Corp, LifeFitness Inc., Seaquist Perfect Dispensing and Allegiance Healthcare.
• Actively managed budget and coordinated activities with other managers to prioritize projects, develop new proposals, performed evaluations and salary reviews.
• Researched and formulated methodologies to improve structural design process optimizing for X. Presented a paper at a national conference in Reno, NV.

Design Engineer CGN & Associates, Inc Cary, NC
June 1996 to April 1997
On-Site at Building Construction Product Division, Caterpillar Inc.

• Outlined product functional specification and application profile for work tools based on market research, competitive bench marking and customer visits.
• Designed and developed general-purpose buckets, multi-purpose buckets and forks using Pro/E.

Design Engineer Kranes Krafts & Controls (P) Ltd Chennai, Tamil Nadu
June 1993 to August 1994
• Developed and optimized design of Cranes and Hoists reducing structural weight by 12%.
• Generated drawings, manufacturing work instructions and quality control procedures.

Master of Business Administration University of Illinois
Champaign, IL
2007 to 2009

Master of Engineering Mechanical Engineering University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
1994 to 1996

Bachelor of Engineering Mechanical Engineering University of Madras
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
1989 to 1993

• Certified 6 Sigma Black Belt – DMAIC and DMEDI
• Certified 6 Sigma Green Belt – DMAIC and DMEDI