Dhinesu BaabuAnbu Thangavelu
12+ years scaling automotive aftermarket businesses across Africa, the GCC and India — IAM, OES & OEM sourcing, ERP-led process design, supplier development and P&L ownership.
Currently leading Truck Parts at Ghassan Aboud — building category coverage, supplier programs and the operating system behind a multi-market parts business.
12+
Years in parts
15+
Countries operated
300+
SKUs launched
AED 1.5M+
Monthly run-rate
About
Operator. Builder. Systems thinker.
I'm Dhinesu Baabu Anbu Thangavelu — a mechanical engineer from Anna University who has spent the past 12 years operating inside the global automotive spare-parts industry across India, the UAE, Africa and Asia.
I started on the OEM export side at L.G. Balakrishnan, moved into the digital aftermarket with Paytm, and since 2016 have been based in Dubai building businesses for Dynatrade, Europart Middle East, Al-Futtaim Select Auto and currently Ghassan Aboud Auto Spare Parts, where I lead the Truck Parts category and the in-house Spitze brand.
My focus is on the unglamorous work that compounds — supplier qualification, ERP-led process design, credit-line discipline, and patient distributor relationships. I want to lead teams that build durable category P&Ls, not chase one-off deals.
Core Expertise
Six capabilities that move the parts business forward.
Truck & Commercial Vehicle Parts
Deep technical and commercial expertise across European, American and Asian truck platforms — Volvo, Scania, Mercedes, MAN, DAF, Iveco, Hino.
Africa Market Development
On-ground experience across 10+ African markets — Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, Mozambique, South Africa, Cameroon, Mali. Credit-line distributor onboarding and route-to-market design.
IAM · OES · OEM Sourcing
Multi-channel sourcing strategy across Independent Aftermarket, Original Equipment Service and OEM supply. Supplier qualification, RFQ negotiation and quality control across China, Turkey, India, Thailand.
ERP & Systems Thinking
Designed and rolled out ERP-led workflows for inventory, pricing and order-to-cash. QR-based duplicate-proofing on private-label brand. Process-first mindset.
P&L & Business Development
End-to-end ownership of category P&L — pricing, margin engineering, demand planning and channel growth. Track record of opening new revenue streams from zero.
Cross-Functional Leadership
Managed sales, sourcing and operations teams across UAE and India. Comfortable working English, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam with multicultural stakeholders.
Market Experience
Markets I've opened and operated in.
Every country where I've onboarded distributors, sourced suppliers, or run customer programs — across Africa, the GCC, Asia and Europe.
No markets configured yet.
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Career Timeline
A decade of market expansion & operational impact
Each milestone is a structured business case — the market opened, the operations built, the systems put in place, and the measurable result delivered.
Frames from the road
Gallery
Photos from each milestone will appear here. Sign in to admin and add your first photos.
Let's Talk
Open to leadership roles in automotive parts.
Based in Dubai. Available for senior management, category-head and country-manager opportunities across the GCC, Africa and India. Reach out on any channel below.