Sunil Kakkar becomes first Indian whole-time director on Maruti Suzuki board

In a significant development, Sunil Kakkar has been appointed as the first Indian employee to serve as a whole-time director on the Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) Board. It marks the first time Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) has nominated an Indian employee for such a position.

“the Board of Directors, at its meeting held today i.e. 26th March, 2025, approved the appointment of Mr. Sunil Kakkar as an Additional Director and Whole-time Director designated as Director (Corporate Planning) for a period of three years with effect from 1st April, 2025 up to 31st March, 2028,” India’s passenger vehicle market leader informed in an exchange filing.

With Kakkar’s appointment, the MSIL Board now consists of six Indian and six Japanese members, reflecting India’s growing influence in Suzuki’s global decision-making process. This is a significant shift, as previous Indian appointees—RC Bhargava (current Chairman) and the late Jagdish Khattar—were government nominees.
The move underscores Japan’s commitment to ensuring robust Indian representation in strategic decisions, highlighting the increasing importance of the Indian market within Suzuki’s global operations.

Independent directors, including Kakkar, play a key role in meeting regulatory compliance requirements and strengthening corporate governance.

Kakkar’s appointment signals a shift in leadership dynamics, as Suzuki acknowledges the contributions of local talent in driving the company’s future growth.

Speaking with CNBC-TV18, RC Bhargava said, “This represents an understanding that there has to be a continuation of a system of a good partnership between the Indian side and the Japanese side. Sunil Kakkar is someone who understands Maruti and will be able to give Suzuki Japam an honest opinion about what the Indian market and Maruti Suzuki need. Japanese directors no matter how long they are posted in India, will never get an ability that an Indian who has worked with Maruti all his life will have. This is an important decision for the long term relationship between Maruti and Suzuki and for the growth of the partnership to even stronger levels.”

Sunil Kakkar – A brief profile

Kakkar, with over 35 years of experience at MSIL, currently serves as the senior executive officer heading the corporate planning vertical and is a key member of the executive committee. He is responsible for shaping the company’s strategic roadmap and driving restructuring initiatives to make Maruti Suzuki more agile and future-ready.

An engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, Kakkar also holds an MBA from the Asian Institute of Technology. Throughout his career, he has held pivotal roles, including leading the supply chain vertical and serving as the plant head of the Gurgaon production facility.

Kakkar has played a crucial role in establishing localised supply chains for strategic projects and has led joint ventures with Japanese, Italian, and French companies for advanced technologies, including Automatic Manual Transmission (AMT), plastic fuel tanks, and high tensile sheet metal technology.

In addition to his new role on the MSIL Board, Kakkar also serves as a Director on the boards of Mark Exhaust Systems Ltd, SKH Metals Ltd, and Hanon Climate Systems India Pvt Ltd, which are MSIL’s associate companies.