Maruti Suzuki appoints Sunil Kakkar as director, 1st in-house Indian talent to rise to board

New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday announced the appointment of Sunil Kakkar as an Additional Director and Whole-time Director, the first instance of a homegrown Indian employee being nominated as a director on its board by parent Suzuki Motor Corporation.

The Board of Directors, at its meeting held on March 26, 2025, approved the appointment of Sunil Kakkar as an Additional Director and Whole-time Director designated as Director (Corporate Planning) for a period of three years with effect from April 1, 2025 up to March 31, 2028, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) said in a regulatory filing.

Following his appointment, there will be six Japanese and six Indians on the board of Maruti Suzuki India, signifying the growing importance of India in Suzuki's decision-making ecosystem.

He is the first Indian in-house employee of Maruti Suzuki who has been nominated by Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), which wants to have a good representation of Indians in decision making.

Kakkar, a Maruti Suzuki lifer, has over 35 years of experience in the company and as the Senior Executive Officer, he currently heads the Corporate Planning vertical.

He is a key member of the Executive Committee and is responsible for driving and preparing the roadmap to achieve the ambitious goals of the company. He is driving restructuring initiatives to make the organisation more agile and future ready, Maruti Suzuki India said.

Throughout his career in Maruti Suzuki, he has held significant leadership positions, including head of Supply Chain vertical and serving as the Plant Head of the Gurgaon production operations.

He played a crucial role in establishing the supply chain for some of the most strategic projects and ensuring deep localization. Additionally, he has 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, it added.

Kakkar also serves as a Director on the boards of several MSIL's associate companies, including Mark Exhaust Systems Ltd., SKH Metals Ltd., and Hanon Climate Systems India Pvt Ltd.

An engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, he is also an MBA from the Asian Institute of Technology, where he was a gold medallist, the company said.