N Chandrasekaran gets second term at Tata Sons: Here are his major achievements 

N Chandrasekaran (File image: PTI)

Tata Sons, the investment holding arm of the Tata group of companies, announced the reappointment of Natarajan Chandrasekaran as its chairman for the second term on February 11. Chandrasekaran, often referred to as Chandra, was appointed chairman of Tata Sons in January 2017, a few months after Cyrus Mistry’s ouster from the post. The group since his appointment has seen a major overhaul, right from the merger of several units to the acquisition of digital properties and in its latest move, Air India.

Here’s a chronology of events that led to Chandra’s appointment and also major business developments in his first tenure.

October 2016: Tata Sons, in a surprise move, sacks chairman Cyrus Mistry and Ratan Tata takes over as the interim chairman. An outraged Mistry writes to the Tata Sons board and slams the decision to abruptly remove him from the chairmanship and accuses the trustees of ‘shadow control’.

January 2017: Tata Sons appoints N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), as chairman. Chandrasekaran had joined TCS in 1987 after completing a Master’s in Computer Applications from a college in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, and eventually rose to become the company’s COO and then CEO.

Also Read: N Chandrasekaran gets extension as chairman of Tata Sons for 5 years

February 2017:  Chandrasekaran takes over as the chairman, and Mistry is removed from the Tata Sons board.

March 2018: Tata Sons reorganises realty and infrastructure businesses under one entity called Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd.

December 2019: National Company Law Appellate Tribunal restores Mistry as executive chairman of Tata Sons but says order operational only after four weeks. NCLAT also says the manner in which the company’s shareholders approved the proposal to turn it into a privately-held entity was “illegal” and reinstates Mistry’s directorship.

January 2020: Tata Sons moves to Supreme Court against NCLAT orders restoring Mistry as chairman and director. The court puts a stay on the NCLAT order.

February 2020: Tata Global Beverages and Tata Chemicals merge consumer businesses to form Tata Consumer Products, bringing FMCG businesses under one umbrella and forming a consumer-focused company.

March 2021: Supreme Court junks NCLAT order reinstating Mistry as chairman of Tata Sons, rules in the favour of the Tata Group, ending a long-drawn courtroom battle between the two parties.

May 2021: Tata Group marks its entry into the fast-growing e-commerce segment with the acquisition of online grocery delivery platform BigBasket. In June, it acquired e-pharmacy 1MG. It also indicates plans to launch an e-commerce super app.

October 2021: Tata Group wins bid for the takeover of national carrier Air India for Rs 18,000 crore. Ratan Tata credits Chandrasekaran’s leadership for bringing Air India back into the Tata fold. Air India is one of the largest acquisitions under Chandrasekaran’s management.

Read: Tata officially completes takeover of Air India — As it happened

In another major development in the group, Tata Motors ties up with TPG Rise Climate to form a new passenger electric vehicle subsidiary. TPG Rise Climate, a fund within private equity firm TPG Inc, will invest Rs 7,500 crore in the new subsidiary under the agreement. The move is being seen as a game changer for Tata Motors.

January 2022: TCS achieved the milestone of $25 billion in annual revenue for 2021. TCS, Tata’s crown jewel, reached new heights under Chandra when he served as the company’s CEO and continues to perform strongly under his chairmanship.