Mumbai: The Tata’s holding company, Tata Sons, has extended Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran’s tenure by another five years, breaking the group’s long-standing retirement age of 65 for executive roles. The decision, approved by the Tata Trusts, has been taken considering Chandrasekaran’s experience and continuity for implementing its critical projects- including Air India’s revival, Tata Electronics’ semiconductor plans and the upcoming IPO for its NBFC arm, Tata Capital.
This move comes at a time when the infighting amongst the Tata Trust trustees has become serious enough to get the government involved. The rift is a result of mistrust between the trustees, with Ratan Tata’s successor and half-brother, Noel, at odds with some of the other trustees with regard to the appointments and investments made by the group.
As per the current rules, a new chairman’s appointment is approved a year before his term ends, and the decision has to be formalised by the Tata Trusts soon after. Tata Trusts currently controls about 66% of Tata Sons.
According to a report by the Economic Times, the third term for N Srinivasan was proposed by Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan at the Tata Trusts meeting on September 11, citing the importance of continuity. The resolution was unanimously approved, despite the differences. There were no official comments from the Trust.
Under N Srinivasan’s previous two terms, the Rs.27 lakh crore worth conglomerate saw its revenues nearly double over the past five years, with revenues from all its 400+ listed and unlisted companies reaching Rs.15.34 lakh crores in FY25 with a net profit of Rs.1.13 lakh crore.
However, the company has been facing challenges in the last year, with TCS, the group’s largest company, shares declining nearly 30% and the negative press received due to the June 12 Ahmedabad-London Air India crash. For now, N Chandrasekaran has his task cut out, the differences can be, should be, and will have to be solved, but other pressing concerns need to be dealt with first.
