N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons
Following his decision to not seek reappointment for a third term as Tata Sons Chairman, it would be easy to portray N Chandrasekaran (Chandra) as a victim of boardroom intrigue. He’s, after all, someone who took charge during a difficult time and helmed the group over the last 10 years piloting it into frontier businesses, most of which are still promises of value. And he was handpicked by none less than the titan Ratan Tata for the job.In fact, it was Tata’s wish that he should be given another term which is why the Tata Trusts passed a resolution recommending his reappointment in June 2025, two years ahead of the term’s end. Yet, Noel Tata, despite being a signatory to the Trust resolution, reneged on the promise. And so, Chandra’s a victim, is the conclusion.But that would not quite be an accurate portrayal of the drama in the Tata Sons Boardroom and in the Tata Trusts ever since Ratan Tata’s demise in 2024.Red flagThe fact is that Chandra has proved to be quite the pragmatist. Even he cannot deny that he played every card at his disposal to continue in power. With Noel Tata, representing the Trusts, raising a red flag, there was little chance that he would be able to function smoothly in the third term. Remember, with the earlier Trust resolution already backing him, the reappointment could not have been stopped. But life would’ve been tough post that for Chandra in the Tata Sons Boardroom.There have been some bets that he made that have gone horribly wrong as in Tata Digital where billions of dollars have gone down the drain with little prospect of returns anytime soon. Likewise with many other capital intensive pursuits such as electronics, semiconductors, and of course, Air India. It can be argued though that most of these are long-gestation projects and again, they’re in the national interest, which is what you’d expect from the house of Tatas.In sum, Chandra’s exit is good as much for him as the Tatas because the boardroom intrigue had inevitably lead to much fog in Tata Sons’ windscreen in recent times.What is the next act in this drama? The incoming chairman’s identity will be important. For long, T.V. Narendran has been spoken of for the role. It helps that he shares a good relationship with Noel, has run Tata Steel with distinction and is also young at just 61 years. He can run the flagship over the next decade until a younger Tata is ready to take over.The episode also probably signals the end of an era at the Tata Trusts where veterans such as Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh have been in power for a decade. The latter has already signalled his intent to not seek reappointment in any of the trusts while the former will probably do the same.The entire episode has strong parallels to how Ratan Tata gradually assumed power unseating one satrap after another in the 90s. Noel is no Ratan, and cannot be too, and he’s too old to assume power in the holding company. The environment is not the same too. History, they say, repeats itself. Only the characters change. Any takers?Published on August 12, 2026
