Noel backs 2-year term for Chandra

Trustees may discuss tenure, leadership model at Tata Sons

- Varun Sood & Satish John

Noel Tata is in favour of extending Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran's tenure by two years instead of the usual five, a duration the Tata Trusts chairman believes will be sufficient to institute a new leadership structure and succession process at India's largest conglomerate.

According to two executives aware of the matter, the Tata Trustees are expected to discuss a fresh truncated term for Chandrasekaran, as well as leadership structure for Tata Sons with separate roles of chairman, chief executive officer and managing director (CEO and MD) and deputy CEO.

The board of Tata Sons, which appointed Chandrasekaran as chair first in 2017 and extended it in 2022, deferred a decision on granting another term on 24 February. The surprise development came after Noel Tata sought a clear roadmap for the performance of some of the new businesses launched under Chandrasekaran's watch, including e-commerce, aviation and semiconductors. Without a fresh term, Chandrasekaran's leadership of India's largest conglomerate will end in February 2027.

"Noel is seized of the developments. We expect to soon discuss and find an amicable way in the interest of the Tata Group," one of the two executives said, adding that Noel remains hopeful discussions could start by next month.