Sunil Kakkar becomes first homegrown employee to become MSIL director

Sunil Kakkar, who has been leading the corporate planning division at Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), has become the first homegrown Indian employee to be nominated to the company's board as a whole-time director. The nomination was made on Wednesday by MSIL’s majority shareholder, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC).

 

MSIL’s board currently comprises 11 members—five Indians and six Japanese. Among the Indian members, four are independent directors, while chairman R C Bhargava is the fifth. With Kakkar’s addition, the board will now have equal representation of six Indians and six Japanese.

 

Kakkar's tenure as whole-time director will be from April 1 this year to March 31, 2028. His nomination underscores MSIL’s growing strategic importance within SMC’s global business.

 

In January, when asked in Delhi whether an Indian could become the CEO of MSIL, SMC president Toshihiro Suzuki had stated that it was entirely possible, as “nationality is not a factor” in such appointments. Currently, Hisashi Takeuchi serves as MSIL’s managing director and CEO.

 

MSIL's share in SMC's total global revenues stands at about 40 per cent. Kakkar, a seasoned professional with over 35 years at MSIL, currently holds the position of senior executive officer (corporate planning). After Wednesday's nomination, his designation will be director (corporate planning).

 

He has previously held key leadership roles in MSIL, including heading the supply chain vertical and serving as plant head of the Gurgaon operations.

 

He played a crucial role in localising supply chains and forming joint ventures with companies from Japan, Italy and France for advancements in AMT (automated manual transmission) technology, plastic fuel tanks and high-tensile sheet metal.

 

An IIT-Kanpur graduate and gold medallist MBA from the Asian Institute of Technology, he also serves on the boards of MSIL’s associate companies and industry bodies such as Siam and Assocham.

 

In the April–February period of this financial year, MSIL sold 1.61 million passenger vehicles in India, which is similar to the 1.607 million units it had sold in the corresponding period of the last financial year.