The board of Tata Sons Pvt Ltd has postponed a decision on whether to give Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran a third term, people familiar with the matter said, the latest sign that another leadership struggle could arise at India’s oldest conglomerate.
The board of directors of the Tata Group holding company discussed the reappointment at a meeting on Tuesday but did not take a final decision as the current term runs till February next year, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information has not yet been made public.
The postponement was due to differences among the board of directors regarding financial losses of some business units, one of the people said. The Economic Times reported the development on Tuesday, just days after the publication said Chandrasekaran was likely to get a third term.
The decision signals another round of power struggle at the coffee-to-cars conglomerate, which was shaken a decade ago when its patriarch Ratan Tata came out of retirement to oust his successor Cyrus Mistry, triggering the country’s worst corporate fight.
A Tata Sons spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Last year was a tumultuous time for the Tata Group, including the deadly Air India crash, the Jaguar Land Rover cyber attack and renewed tensions at Tata Sons’ majority shareholder Tata Trust, which is now led by Ratan’s half-brother Noel Tata.
If 62-year-old Chandrasekaran – Tata Sons’ first non-family, non-successor chairman – is ultimately reappointed, it would provide leadership continuity for the group as it deals with headwinds across all sectors.
Throughout its 156-year history, the Tata Group has enjoyed unusually stable leadership, with its chairman chosen from within his trusted circle and change managed quietly. This peace was broken in 2016, when Tata Sons suddenly ousted then-chairman Mistry in a boardroom coup led by Ratan Tata – a lifelong bachelor who had no children to install him in the role.
The episode also raised questions about succession planning and the balance of power between Tata Sons and Tata Trust, which controls two-thirds of the holding company. Chandra’s appointment in 2017 was aimed at steadying the ship and restoring confidence.
Under Chandra, revenues and profits of the Tata Group’s 15 largest listed companies almost doubled. His tenure has been defined by ambitious bets – from building India’s first domestic semiconductor factory to steering cash-cow Tata Consultancy Services Ltd through the disruption of artificial intelligence.
The chairmanship decision will also reveal how Noel Tata is strengthening himself after taking over Tata Trust in 2024.
There is growing uncertainty over how aggressively Noel plans to position himself and his children in the Tata power structure. His son, Neville, was appointed as a trustee of Tata Trusts late last year, while Mehli Mistry, a vocal opponent, stepped down as a fellow trustee.