India Tata Motors Managing Director Karl Slym dies in Bangkok

Karl Slym, 51, managing director of Tata Motors Ltd., India's largest automaker, died in Bangkok, where he had gone to attend a meeting, the company said. The cause of the British-born executive's death Sunday was not known but some reports said he might have fallen from a high floor of his hotel,where he was attending a meeting of the company's Thai unit. The Hindustan Times said Slym had been involved in the restructuring of the Tata Motors to help it regain its market position. Slym had joined the company in October 2012 during a major management change. "I am deeply saddened to inform you about the untimely and tragic demise of our company's Managing Director, Karl Slym," Tata Chairman Cyrus Mistry said in a statement. "Karl joined us in October 2012, and was 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. Before joining Tata, Slym had been president of General Motors India. Slym had also worked for Toyota in England. The Wall Street Journal said Slym was leading Tata Motors' efforts to come up with new models as analysts have blamed the company's sales decline lately to absence of new models. The company also has been grappling with slow sales of its small Nano passenger car.