"Nirmalya Kumar, Professor of Marketing at the London Business School, will join Tata Sons as Member-Group Executive Council reporting to the Chairman, Cyrus P Mistry, from August 1, 2013," Tata Sons said in a statement.
Kumar will hold responsibility for strategy at the group level, it added.
"In addition, Kumar will lend his expertise in bringing customer centricity to the fore, across the group companies," the company said.
Kumar has received his B Com degree from the the Calcutta University, his MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and his PhD in marketing from the Northwestern University, the USA, it added.
Besides, he has taught at the Harvard Business School, IMD (Switzerland) and the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, the company said.
Kumar is also a member of the Board of Governors of the London Business School and has served on the boards of several top companies too, it added.
Kumar has authored six books including, Brand Breakout: How Emerging Market Brands Will Go Global.
Image: Nirmalya Kumar; Photograph courtesy: Nirmalya Kumar