Tatas bring on Board TCS' N Chandrasekaran, JLR's Ralf Speth

A day after Cyrus Pallonji Mistry was sacked as Chairman of Tata Sons, Tata Group expanded the board of the company appointing Ralf Speth and N Chandrasekaran as Additional Directors on Tata Sons Board. The board now consists of 11 members.Much in line with the vision of Ratan Tata, who was appointed Interim Chairman of Tata Sons after Mistry's dismissal, the company in a statement said, "This is in recognition of their exemplary leadership in their companies."While Chandrasekaran is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Ralf Speth leads Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) as CEO.  Meanwhile, TCS board has approved Chandrasekaran's elevation to Tata Sons board. Chandrasekaran will be non-executive member of Tata Sons board, it said. "I am humbled by this honour and look forward to contributing to the board," Chandrasekaran told CNBC-TV18.For Tata Group, JLR and TCS have been cash generating businesses. Chandrasekaran rose up the ranks to helm TCS, Speth was brought in as JLR CEO in February 2010. JLR was acquired by Tata Motors in 2008. Market expert Prakash Diwan lauded the swiftness with which Tata Sons made the board appointments to negate any setback from the abrupt ouster of Mistry. The high-level appointments underline the professional virtues of the company, he added. Diwan expects the Street to see the development as a positive measure which establishes the sanctity of Tata Sons' Board. He added that the markets will view the move as a conclusive damage control exercise and the appointments set a firm footing for the potential selection of a professional CEO as Chairman of Tata Sons. The group had on Monday announced that Ratan Tata will remain Interim Chairman of Tata Sons for four months till a new Chairman is selected. TCS' IT industry peer Tech Mahindra's Managing Director and Chief Executive CP Gurnani said Chandrasekaran's elevation will only add to Tata Group's digital push.Gurnani, who worked with Chandrasekaran at NASSCOM and World Economic Forum, said he is clearly a sound professional who understands that every industry will get disrupted. Chandrasekaran's inputs will add tremendous value to Tata Sons' board for its digital strategies, he added.Watch video for more...