TROY, MI — Chris Villavarayan has been appointed president, Meritor Americas, responsible for the company’s North and South America Truck, Defense and Specialty Businesses, Meritor announced this week.

Also, Joe Plomin has been named president, International, Europe and Asia Pacific. Plomin and Villavarayan will report to Jay Craig, senior vice president and president of Commercial Truck & Industrial for Meritor.

Villavarayan most recently served as vice president, Global Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management for Meritor. Previously, he was managing director for Meritor India where he lived for two years.

During that time, he led Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems (India) Ltd., a joint venture with the Kalyani Group in Mysore, India. Prior to that, Villavarayan was general manager, Operations Planning and Strategy at Meritor.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Plomin most recently served as vice president, International Operations, during which time he relocated to Europe. Prior to that, he was vice president of Truck Americas for Meritor.

Before joining Meritor in 2007, he was president of Remy International’s Electrical Division and senior vice president and general manager of its Heavy Duty business unit.

Before joining Remy, Plomin was president of Stewart Warner Instruments. He has more than 20 years of experience in heavy duty and automotive component development, marketing and sales. Plomin holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Knox College in Galesburg, Ill.

“These appointments represent our strong bench of leadership talent within the company,” Craig said. “Joe and Chris have an excellent understanding of our industry, combined with a strong manufacturing background and international business experience.”