Indians given key slots at Maruti

Maruti Suzuki India, which last year dropped Udyog as its middle name and appointed its first Japanese managing director, has set up a new management structure installing five Indians in crucial decision-making positions.

This layer forms the second rung of the company’s executive management, just below managing director S Nakanishi. Earlier, when Jagdish Khattar was the managing director, he was the only Indian in the top management.

The new structure has two executives, one Indian and the other Japanese, heading the five critical functions of the company — production, sales & marketing, procurement, administration & engineering, and research & development.

Both the Indian and the Japanese have the same designation of management executive officer. However, there is one distinction — the Japanese is also a member of the board of directors, while the Indian is invited to attend all board meetings.