Maruti Suzuki Appoints Sunil Kakkar As First Indian Corporate Planning Director On Company Board
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. appointed Sunil Kakkar as the first Indian to take the position of whole-time director on the the company's board.
He will no longer be the senior management personnel from April 1 onwards. His official designation is Director (corporate planning).
He has been appointed for a period of three years starting from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2028.
The firm also designated as Tapan Sahoo as head of digital enterprise and information and cyber security.
Sunil Kakkar, a senior executive officer at Maruti Suzuki India, has spent up to 35 years with the company, currently heads the corporate planning vertical and is a key member of the Executive Committee. He is responsible for developing the roadmap to achieve the company's goals and is reportedly undertaking restructuring initiatives to enhance organizational agility according to the filing.
Kakkar is an engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, he also holds an MBA from the Asian Institute of Technology, where he was a gold medalist. During his career at Maruti Suzuki, he has held significant leadership positions, including head of the Supply Chain vertical and Plant Head of the Gurgaon production operations.
Suzuki stated that he played a crucial role in establishing the supply chain for key projects and ensuring deep localization. The company also credits him with having been instrumental in forming joint ventures with companies from Japan, Italy, and France for projects such as Controllers, AMT technology, Plastic fuel tanks, and high-tensile sheet metal technology.
Beyond his current responsibilities, Mr. Kakkar also serves as a Director on the boards of several Maruti Suzuki Associate Companies, including Mark Exhaust Systems Ltd., SKH Metals Ltd., and Hanon Climate Systems India Pvt. Ltd.
He served as Chairman of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers' Aatmanirbhar BharatSourcing Group, promoting localization in the Indian auto industry. He has also been nominated as the Honorary Chairman of the INVEST Northern Zonal Council and is the Chairman of ASSOCHAM's National Council on Auto & Auto Ancillaries, as well as a member of the CII Japan Council.
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