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Maruti Suzuki shuffles executive deck
MUMBAI: Maruti Suzuki has turbocharged its leadership lineup with two heavyweight appointments that promise to rev up the company’s strategic engines.
Sunil Kakkar, a 35-year veteran of the automotive trenches, will slide into the director (corporate planning) role from 1 April 2025. An IIT Kanpur engineer with an MBA gold medal, Kakkar arrives with a portfolio that reads like a automotive industry roadmap—from supply chain mastery to international joint venture architecting.
His corporate credentials include chairing industry bodies like SIAM’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat Sourcing Group and holding directorial seats across multiple associate companies. With awards like supply chain leader of the year, Kakkar has the right credentials.
Joining the corporate pit crew is Tapan Sahoo, designated head of digital enterprise and information & cyber security. An IIT Delhi alumnus with a PhD and “fellow” status from prestigious engineering academies, Sahoo brings 33 years of technology management firepower.
His brief? Turbocharg digital transformation, leverage AI/ML technologies, and collaborate with startups and academia. With multiple patents and research publications under his belt, Sahoo looks set to be Maruti Suzuki’s digital alchemist.
These appointments signal Maruti Suzuki’s intent to blend traditional automotive expertise with cutting-edge technological innovation—a strategic chess move in an increasingly complex mobility landscape.
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LTTS CDO Narayanan Ramanathan steps down
Resignation effective 19 February, company cites personal reasons
CHENNAI: L&T Technology Services Limited announced the resignation of its chief delivery officer and senior management personnel Narayanan Ramanathan, marking a key leadership exit at the engineering services firm.
Ramanathan stepped down from his role, effective at the close of business on 19 February 2026, citing personal reasons. The company accepted the resignation the same day and duly filed all regulatory disclosures related to his cessation.
Based in Chennai, Ramanathan led LTTS’s Digital Products and Manufacturing Services (DPMS) business as a P&L head, overseeing multi-million-dollar operations and large-scale digital transformation programmes. His mandate covered Industry X.0, the Internet of Things, operational technology cybersecurity, robotics, cobots, digital twins, analytics and artificial intelligence.
He joined LTTS in 2018 and spent nearly eight years at the firm, holding several leadership roles before becoming chief delivery officer in November 2024. During his tenure, he worked closely with global capability centres to execute engineering-led digital strategies for international clients.
A technology industry veteran with over 27 years of experience, Ramanathan previously held senior leadership roles at Tech Mahindra, where he served as vice president and global head for connected engineering and analytics, and earlier led integrated engineering solutions across APAC and MEAI markets.
Ramanathan is also the first recipient of the International Galileo Master Award from the European Space Agency. LTTS said there is no additional information to disclose regarding board relationships following his resignation.
