Tata after Chandra: What lies ahead for the group?

ON THE MORNING of August 12, when Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran walked into Bombay House, there was already a sense that something unusual was about to happen. About an hour later, after he entered his corner office on the fourth floor, an email announcing his decision not to seek reappointment began making its way to the inboxes of Tata Sons’ board members. Some of Chandrasekaran’s confidants had prior knowledge, but the news came as a shock to Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata.

“Is this Cyrus Mistry Part 2 unfolding?” some wondered, while others whispered about what had transpired at the heritage headquarters. The parallel with Cyrus Mistry’s exit was difficult to ignore, 10 years after another Tata Sons chairman stepped aside following differences with another Tata over strategy, capital allocation, and governance. In his resignation letter, Chandrasekaran pointed fingers at Tata, saying that “one of the board members did not support” the extension of his term for another five years.