Tata Sons Pvt Ltd board on Friday considered and approved the re-appointment of its executive chairman N Chandrasekaran for another five years.
Ratan Tata, who was a special invitee to the board meeting expressed his satisfaction on the progress and performance of the Tata Group under the leadership of N Chandrasekaran. He recommended his term be renewed for a further five-year period.
The continuity in leadership comes as the 154-year-old conglomerate that makes salt to luxury sedans, is working on an all-in-one ecommerce superapp -- one of Chandrasekaran’s key projects -- to market its swathe of consumer products and services as part of a digital makeover. The group is also reinventing its aviation businesses after successfully acquiring Air India Ltd. from the federal government last year.
“It has been a privilege to lead the Tata Group for the last five years and I am delighted at the opportunity to lead the Tata Group for another five years, in its next phase,” Chandrasekaran said.
Chandrasekaran's current tenure as the chairman of the company expires at the end of this month.
Chandrasekaran joined the board of Tata Sons in 2016 and took over as Chairman in 2017 at a time when the group was mired in crisis after the ouster of his predecessor Cyrus Mistry in a shock boardroom coup led by Ratan Tata, who heads Tata Trusts - a bunch of philanthropic organizations that hold 66% stake in Tata Sons.
The ouster triggered a years-long legal battle between the two sides and was finally put to bed after India’s top court ruled in March 2021 that Mistry’s dismissal was legal.
Under Chandrasekaran, Tatas sold the mobile phone business of Tata Teleservices to Bharti Airtel in an attempt to cut losses. In May 2018, the group made one of the biggest acquisitions to date when Tata Steel took over Bhushan Steel by paying ₹35,200 crore under the insolvency process.
Tata Steel, which managed to turn around the company renamed as Tata Steel BSL, however, couldn't close a deal to sell its European business to ThyssenKrupp.
In October last year, Tata Sons made a winning bid for Air India, bringing back an airline that the group had originally founded.
The Tata group now has three airlines - Tata SIA Airlines, AirAsia India and Air India with a combined market share of over 25%.
Last year, Chandrasekaran started his acquisition spree in the digital domain in his drive to launch a Super App which will sell from salt to airline tickets to the customers directly.
In May 2021, Tata Sons acquired Big Basket at a reported valuation of ₹9,500 crore, pitting it in direct competition with American retail giant, Amazon and Wal-Mart owned Flipkart and Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Retail.
While Tata Power has been working to unlock the value of its renewables business, Tata Motors stabilised under his leadership.
Chandrasekaran also chairs the Boards of several group operating companies, including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) – of which he was Chief Executive Officer from 2009-17.
His appointment as Chairman in 2017 followed a 30-year business career at TCS, which he joined from university. Chandra rose through the ranks at TCS to become CEO and Managing Director of the leading global IT solution and consulting firm.
Under his leadership, TCS generated total revenues of $16.5 billion in 2015-16 and consolidated its position as the largest private sector employer in India and the country’s most valuable company. TCS has also been placed among the “Big 4” most valuable IT services brands worldwide, ranked as one of the world’s most innovative companies by Forbes and recognized as a global top employer by the top employers Institute across 24 countries.
With 100-odd businesses and 29 listed firms, the Tata group had combined revenue of about $103 billion for the year ended March 31, 2021. Its 800,000-plus employees help the conglomerate make cars and trucks, blend tea, manufacture salt, forge steel, sell insurance, write software, operate airlines and phone networks, among much else.
(With inputs from agencies)
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