Mats Palmberg, currently Head of Saab’s Gripen India Campaign and Vice President of Industrial Partnerships at Saab, will be the new Chairman and Managing Director of Saab India Technologies Pvt. Ltd (SITPL).

Mats’ appointment as Saab’s Head of Country Unit India further reinforces Saab’s long-term commitment to India. Mats already has many years of experience working across the Indian defence and aerospace industry at all levels. As the leader of Saab’s Gripen campaign in India he has been a strong advocate for Saab’s commitment to Make-in-India and Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

Mats’ predecessor, Ola Rignell, will take on new responsibilities within Saab in Sweden after his successful time spent expanding Saab’s presence in India. Mats Palmberg will take over from Ola Rignell on 1 May 2022.

“Mats Palmberg assumes the vital role of leading Saab’s Indian business at a very important time. I salute the great work done by Ola Rignell and I welcome the continuing expertise and continuity that Mats’ appointment brings. The Indian government’s policy of encouraging Atma Nirbar Bharat and Make-in-India is fully in line with Saab’s commitment to building a strong industrial base in India. We see opportunities for further and deeper partnerships with Indian companies, to meet growing needs at a global level. With his long experience of India and deep knowledge of building industrial partnerships, Mats is well-suited to drive Saab’s goals in India; to build strong partnerships with Indian industry and meet the needs of India’s defence and security forces,” says Dean Rosenfield, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Saab.

Since joining Saab in 1984 Mats has held senior management positions in marketing, strategy and industrial cooperation during his long career working with commercial and defence programmes in the aeronatics sector. Prior to his current assignment he was Vice President, Head of Marketing and Future Products. He was also instrumental in establishing Saab as a Tier One partner to Airbus and Boeing as well as forging partnerships with many other international OEMs in the aviation world.