Chandra exit underscores Tata troubles that began after Ratan Tata death
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd., has told the company’s board that he will not seek reappointment when his current tenure ends in
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd., has told the company’s board that he will not seek reappointment when his current tenure ends in February 2027, deciding against a third term seven months before his second five-year term expires. He will continue as chairman until then. Chandrasekaran became chairman of Tata Sons in January 2017, after spending three decades at Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., including as its chief executive. His decision to step down comes at an unsettled moment for the House of Tata, with questions over succession, governance, capital allocation and the direction of the group’s newer businesses. Since Ratan Tata’s death on 9 October 2024, the balance of power between Tata Sons and the Tata Trusts has come under greater scrutiny. Disagreements among trustees and over the future direction of the $400-billion-plus conglomerate. have tested a system that was for years largely driven by consensus. Here is how trouble unfolded. 9 October 2024: Ratan Tata dies Ratan Tata’s death removed a key bridge between Tata Sons and the charitable trusts that own about 66% of the holding company. His death left the Tata Trusts facing a leadership transition even as Tata Sons continued to function under Chandrasekaran. Two days later, Noel Tata, Ratan Tata’s half-brother, was appointed chairman of Tata Trusts. The transition appeared orderly, but an important constraint was already in place. Changes to Tata Sons’ rules meant that the chairman of Tata Trusts could not simultaneously become chairman of Tata Sons.
Noel therefore became a director of Tata Sons, while Chandrasekaran remained at the helm of the holding company. View full Image View full Image Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata Late 2024: The pressure to list The leadership transition was unfolding alongside a separate issue for Tata Sons: its status as an unlisted company. The Reserve Bank of India had classified Tata Sons as an upper-layer non-banking financial company (NBFC). Under the RBI’s framework, such companies were required to list within three years of being classified, putting Tata Sons on course for a September 2025 deadline. Tata Sons did not want to go public and sought an exemption from the listing requirement, but the RBI has not granted one yet. July 2025: Trying to stay private By July 2025, Tata Sons had taken a significant step to strengthen its case for staying private. It repaid about ₹30,000 crore of debt, effectively making itself debt free. The move removed one factor the RBI considers when determining whether an NBFC belongs in the upper layer. View full Image View full Image Bombay House, the corporate office of Tata Sons in Mumbai. Photo by Hemant Mishra/ Mint September 2025: The first big rupture Tensions inside Tata Trusts surfaced publicly when Vijay Singh, one of the trusts’ nominees on the Tata Sons board, was removed at a meeting on 11 September. Four of seven trustees opposed his continuation. At the heart of the dispute was a complaint that the three Tata Trusts nominees on the Tata Sons board had not adequately kept the other trustees informed about important developments at the holding company.
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