KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Eaton Corp. announced that Nanda Kumar has been named president – Europe, Middle East and Africa for the Vehicle Group, effective July 1. In his new role, Kumar will report to Joe Palchak, president – Vehicle Group, and will be based in Turin, Italy.

He succeeds Joao Faria, who was named regional president – Americas, for Eaton’s Hydraulics Group

“Nanda has held key leadership and operational positions within our automotive business, and I am confident that his deep knowledge of the vehicle industry will help us continue to grow in the EMEA market,” said Palchak. “We look forward to his experience, leadership and proven performance as we manage through a challenging business environment in this region.”

Kumar joined Eaton in 1990 and held positions of increasing responsibility in the automotive business including plant manager for the facilities in Roxboro, N.C., and Massa, Italy, and general manager for the valve and valve actuation business. In addition, he served as vice president and general manager for the specialty controls and valve actuation businesses. Prior to joining Eaton, Kumar was with the Robert Bosch Corp. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Bangalore University in India, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich., and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.

In addition, Paolo Baretta has been named director and controller – Vehicle Group for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He reports directly to Joao Faria and functionally to Renee Peterson, vice president – Finance.

Jim Fisher, currently the interim EMEA region controller for the group, will support Baretta’s transition into his new role until mid-April. Baretta also will be located in Turin, Italy. In this role, he will be responsible for internal and external reporting for the region, as well as pricing, forecasting, planning and compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in support of the group’s goals and objectives.

Baretta joins Eaton from Isola Group Sarl, where he was most recently the European vice president of finance. He also served as the European and Asian group controller for Federal Mogul’s Champion brand. He began his career with the Italian textile producer Miroglio Group. Baretta holds a degree in economics from the University of Torino in Italy, and has earned advanced degrees and certifications in management and finance from the Ecole des Affaires in Paris, Oxford and Berlin.

Also this week, Eaton announced that Howard Liu has been named president – Asia Pacific for the Vehicle Group, effective July 1. In his new role, Liu will report to Joe Palchak, president – Vehicle Group, and will be based in Shanghai, China. He succeeds Dave Bennett, who will return to the U.S. to a new Eaton position.

“Howard’s success in leading greater China’s hydraulics manufacturing facilities positions him well to take on this regional role for Vehicle,” said Palchak. “His experience will be extremely valuable to us as we continue to respond to unprecedented growth in vehicle sales in the critical Asia Pacific market. I want to thank Dave for his leadership in successfully establishing Eaton’s truck operations in Asia Pacific, and the guidance he provided our overall regional vehicle operations since being named to this role in July 2009.”

Liu joined Eaton in 2006 as general manager – Hydraulics Operations, Greater China, for the Hydraulics Group. Prior to joining Eaton, Liu was general manager at one of Carrier Corp.’s China subsidiaries, and in operations management for Danaher in China. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and a master’s degree in business administration from Michigan State University.