New Delhi: Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Tata Sons Chairman, has been conferred the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his contributions towards enhancing business relations between India and the UK. This honor reflects the Tata Group’s long-standing association with the UK in sectors such as technology, automotive, steel, hospitality, chemicals, and consumer goods.
Chandrasekaran, popularly referred to as Chandra, was proud of Tata’s dominance in the UK. The group has more than 70,000 employees there and has iconic British brands such as Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley Tea. Tata also partners with leading UK universities, such as Oxford, Warwick, LSE, and Swansea, on research and academic initiatives.
Chandra became a member of the Tata Sons board in 2016 and became Chairman in 2017. He also heads large Tata companies such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, and Air India. During his tenure, the group recovered from a leadership crisis by adopting a “One Tata” approach to consolidating its businesses. He also guided Tata into new and thrilling spaces such as mobile technology, consumer internet platforms, semiconductors, electronics manufacturing, and battery giga-factories.
This is not Chandra’s first overseas recognition, France had honored him with the “Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur” (Knight of the Legion of Honour) in 2023 for strengthening business relations between France and India.
Other Indian corporate leaders who have been awarded the Honorary KBE are Ratan Tata (2009), Ravi Shankar (2001), and Jamshed Irani (1997). Recently, Airtel’s Sunil Mittal was also bestowed with the KBE by King Charles III last year.
