SML Mahindra Names Surender Kalra as Chief Financial Officer
SML Mahindra Limited has declared a shift in its financial leadership, naming Surender Kalra as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) starting January 1, 2027, after the exit of existing CFO Pushkar Patwardhan.
Manaswini Goel, who presently manages finance for the Mahindra Group’s Aerospace, Advanced Technologies, and Trucks & Buses divisions, will act as interim CFO from October 20 until December 31, 2026.
The board of the company ratified the appointments during its meeting on October 12, based on suggestions from the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and the Audit Committee.
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Patwardhan will resign as CFO and Key Managerial Personnel effective at the end of October 19. He has mentioned a job opportunity outside the Mahindra Group as the reason for his exit.
The transition creates a temporary setup for the last months of 2026 prior to Kalra taking on the full-time CFO position at the start of the new year.
Goel is presently the CFO of the Mahindra Group's ventures in Aerospace, Advanced Technologies, and the Trucks & Buses sectors. Her duties encompass capital optimization, strategic financial planning, business performance, and value enhancement. She had earlier held the position of Group Head – Corporate Finance and Treasury at the Mahindra Group and was the treasurer at Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services.
A Chartered Accountant, Goel became part of the Mahindra Group in 2015. Prior to that, she was employed at HDFC and the National Housing Bank, acquiring expertise in capital markets, treasury, funding, risk management, and corporate finance.
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According to the company's regulatory filing, she also contributed to Mahindra & Mahindra's purchase of a share in SML Isuzu, currently known as SML Mahindra.
Kalra is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of experience in finance, governance, business planning, and transformation. He has been linked to the Swaraj business for almost 30 years, having started with the previous Punjab Tractors Ltd. in 1996 and remained with Mahindra & Mahindra after its takeover of the firm in 2007.
Since 2022, Kalra has held the position of Vice President – Finance, Swaraj Division, and has been part of the Swaraj Executive Council. His past duties have encompassed leadership positions in finance and accounts, business planning, and internal auditing. He also contributed to the team that incorporated Punjab Tractors into Mahindra & Mahindra and has overseen financial optimization and governance efforts.
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His appointment puts a seasoned finance executive from the Mahindra Group at the helm of SML Mahindra's financial operations starting January 2027.
SML Mahindra, previously referred to as SML Isuzu Limited, functions in the trucks and buses sector. The leadership shifts follow Mahindra & Mahindra's acquisition of a stake in the firm, which then took on the SML Mahindra name. The most recent filing outlines the succession schedule for the CFO role, with Goel managing the interim phase until Kalra's permanent appointment.