Sunil Kakkar becomes first Indian whole-time director on Maruti Suzuki board, Tapan Sahoo to head digital, cyber arms

Maruti Suzuki India announced the appointment of Sunil Kakkar to the top auto giant’s board as an Additional Director and Whole-Time Director. With this, Kakkar has become a homegrown Indian employee, having been nominated by parent Suzuki Motor Corporation as a director on its board.

“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,” said Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges.

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Kakkar has become the first Indian in-house employee of Maruti Suzuki to be nominated by Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) as a board member and Full-Time Director. A Maruti Suzuki lifer, Kakkar has over 35 years of experience in the auto major in various capacities. As the Senior Executive Officer, he currently heads the Corporate Planning vertical of Maruti Suzuki India.

Maruti Suzuki India Leadership Updates

The Board also approved Kenichiro Toyofuku’s designation from Director (Corporate Planning) to Director (Sustainability), effective April 1, 2025. In another announcement, the board approved Dr Tapan Sahoo as Maruti’s Senior Management Personnel (SMP). Dr Sahoo is designated as the Head of digital Enterprise (DE) and Information and cyber Security, effective April 1.

Dr Tapan Sahoo is responsible for devising strategies for new-age technology solutions that enhance customer experience, improve operational efficiency using cutting-edge technologies like AI/ML, collaborate with startups and academia, etc.

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Sunil Kakkar’s tenure at Maruti Suzuki India

Sunil 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. With this elevation to the Board as a Full-Time Director, Maruti Suzuki said Kakkar will cease to be the company’s Senior Management Personnel (SMP) effective April 1, 2025.

Kakkar is a key member of the Executive Committee and is responsible for driving and preparing the roadmap to achieve the company’s ambitious goals. According to Maruti Suzuki India, he is driving restructuring initiatives to make the organisation agile and future-ready. Throughout his career at Maruti Suzuki, he has held major leadership positions, including head of the Supply Chain vertical and Plant Head of the Gurgaon production operations.

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It added that he played a crucial role in establishing the supply chain for some of the most strategic projects and ensuring deep localization. He has been instrumental in forming joint ventures (JVs) with companies from Japan, Italy, and France for projects such as Controllers, AMT technology, Plastic fuel tanks, and high-tensile sheet metal technology.

The auto major added in its filing that Sunil Kakkar graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, with an engineering degree and an MBA from the Asian Institute of Technology, where he was a gold medallist.