Ramkripa Ananthan is the Design Director at Mahindra & Mahindra and she played a major role in the development of one of India’s best-selling SUVs, the XUV 500. She is one of the few renowned designers in the Indian automotive industry.
Wiki/Biography
Ramkripa Ananthan was born in 1971 (now 49 years old; 2020). She pursued a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology (BITS Pilani). She also obtained a postgraduate degree in Industrial Design from IDC School of Design, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. She joined Mahindra & Mahindra in 1997 as an Interior Designer for Bolero, Scorpio and Xylo.
XUV 300 designed by Ramkripa Ananthan
appearance
Eye color: Black
Hair color: Gray
Family and caste
There is not much information about Ramkripa Ananthan’s family and caste.
Profession
After completing her postgraduate degree in Industrial Design from IDC School of Design, IIT-Bombay, she joined Mahindra & Mahindra as an Interior Designer for the Bolero, Scorpio and Xylo. She was then tasked with developing a premium SUV for the company as they were willing to enter the premium SUV market to compete with other companies. To take the project forward, the first step in the development was that they surveyed 1500 people to find out what they expected from the upcoming premium SUV. Ramkripa herself is a very active and adventurous person who travelled from Manali to Srinagar on a Bajaj Avenger motorcycle. The inspiration she got from the outdoors helped her develop the car. When the project was launched, Ramkripa Ananthan was the first woman Design Director in India to lead a car design project. The project was launched in 2007 and it took Kripa and her team of 20 employees four years to design the car. Finally, in 2011, the XUV 500 was launched and created an immediate sensation.
Car Collection
Being the chief designer of XUV 500, Ramkripa is also the proud owner of this car.
Ramkripa Ananthan with the new XUV 500
Bicycle Collection
Ramkripa has two two-wheelers, she uses her Bajaj Avenger for long distance travel and she also has a Vespa scooter which serves as her daily transport.
Facts/Trivia
- While designing the XUV 500, Ramkripa was asked to take inspiration from the cheetah.
The Cheetah-inspired XUV 500
- After the success of their first project as a team, the XUV 500 team continued to work on the alphanumeric series, designing the TUV 300, KUV 100, and even redesigning the XUV 500. Apart from this, they are also working on the new MVP Marazzo.
- Ramkripa’s team is made up of young and motivated people. Currently, there are 5 female designers in her team. She believes that everyone has their own value regardless of gender.
- She loves her job because she gets to go to car shows, meet new people, and see new cars. She also loves spending time in London or Paris so she can sit on a busy street and witness a beautiful Lamborghini or other sports car drive by.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education