BENGALURU: Ravi K has assumed charge as chairman and managing director (CMD) of defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), becoming the company’s 22nd CMD. He takes over from DK Sunil, who superannuated on April 30.Ravi K was previously director (operations) at HAL, where he was involved in strategic planning. He has more than 30 years of experience in aerospace and defence, manufacturing and electronics.“During his earlier roles — which included executive director and general manager of the LCA Tejas division — he was associated with several major contracts, including the supply of 180 LCA Tejas aircraft to the Indian Air Force and 156 LCH Prachand helicopters to the Indian Army and Air Force,” HAL said in a statement.It added that he has also been credited with work toward operationalising the LCA Tejas fleet in the IAF and increasing indigenous content in the programme.“His tenure saw HAL expand into civil manufacturing and the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) segment. He also oversaw the outsourcing of fuselage assemblies to private sector partners to expand production capacity,” HAL said.Ravi is a mechanical engineering graduate from Malnad College of Engineering, Karnataka, and an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and IAS, Toulouse, France. He also serves as a nominee director on the board of Multi-Role Transport Aircraft Ltd.On assuming charge, he said his focus would be on making HAL competitive in the global aerospace and defence market, with an emphasis on innovation, AI adoption and operational efficiency.