Chandrasekaran takes over as new chief of India’s Tata group
NEW DELHI: Natarajan Chandrasekaran took over as the chairman of Tata Sons — the holding company that controls India’s largest conglomerate, the Tata group — on Tuesday, following a lengthy management feud surrounding the sacking of the former chief.
Chandrasekaran, 53, formerly chief executive of the group’s software services wing, Tata Consultancy Services, took the mantle from company patriarch Ratan Tata, who was interim chairman after Cyrus Mistry was removed from the position in October.
Chandrasekaran began his job by chairing a Tata Sons board meeting at the group headquarters in Mumbai, a Tata spokesman said.
“I look forward to working with all the group entities, bringing the group together to make an impact both in terms of business and also in terms of the society, at large,” he told reporters before the meeting.
Chandrasekaran said he would focus on three priorities; bringing the group “closer together” to leverage its strengths, reinforcing a leader’s mindset among companies to drive performance and bringing greater rigour to capital allocation policies as well as delivering superior returns to shareholders.
Mistry’s ouster sparked a bitter public spat and boardroom battle with Ratan Tata, 79, a longtime chairman, who appointed Mistry to the position in 2012.
Mistry, 50, was subsequently removed from boards of various Tata companies. While Mistry flagged lack of corporate governance in the group, Tata accused Mistry of poor business decisions and disregarding the ethos of Tata group.
Mistry has contested his sacking as Tata Sons chief in the National Company Law Tribunal, which deals with corporate grievances in India.