Watch industry veteran Gopalratnam Kannan has been appointed president of the Timex Group India. The announcement was made Monday.

Kapil Kapoor, senior vice president, Asia Pacific and managing director of Timex Group India, said Kannan’s expertise and experience would help the Timex Group – India “continue on its trajectory and also make a strong entry into the luxury segment.”

Kannan brings with him more than 18 years of experience in the watch industry, and is regarded as a pioneer for luxury watch marketing in India.

As the president of Timex Group India, he will head the sales and marketing operations, and all support functions including finance and human resources.

Prior to joining Timex, Kannan was Country Manager for India for the Swatch Group, responsible for all India operations for brands, including Omega, Longines, Rado, Blancpain, Tissot, and Swatch. He also worked earlier for the Indian watchmaker Titan Industries Limited.

Timex Group, which traces its origins to 1854, is one of the world’s largest watch makers with more than 5,000 employees worldwide. Its brands include Timex, Versace, Valentino, Salvatore Ferragamo, Guess, GC, Vincent Bérard,Versus, TX, Marc Ecko, Nautica and Opex.

JCK