Tata Sons Defers Decision on Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran's Reappointment

The board of Tata Sons has deferred a decision on granting a third term to chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran , according to reports from Bloomberg and CNBC TV-18. The board of directors at the Tata Group ’s holding company discussed Chandrasekaran’s reappointment at a meeting on Tuesday but did not take a final decision as his current term runs until February 2027, sources told Bloomberg and CNBC TV-18. Financialexpress.com could not verify the news independently. We have reached out to the company, and this copy will be updated once we hear from them. The deferment follows differences of opinion among board members regarding financial losses at certain business units, one of the people cited by Bloomberg said. Chandrasekaran, 62, took over as chairman in 2017 after the ouster of Cyrus Mistry. He became the first non-family and non-heir to lead Tata Sons. His appointment followed a bitter boardroom battle in 2016 that saw patriarch Ratan Tata return from retirement to remove Mistry as chairman, triggering one of India’s most high-profile corporate disputes, as per media reports. Furthermore, Noel Tata has sought assurances on three key issues before backing the reappointment of N Chandrasekaran as chairman of Tata Sons for another five-year term, CNBC-TV18 reported, citing sources. According to the CNBC TV-18 report, Noel Tata has opposed any move to list Tata Sons, favoured preserving liquidity at the holding company level by avoiding fresh investments that could strain its balance sheet, and called for a resolution of pending matters with the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. The report added that Tata Sons deferred a decision on extending Chandrasekaran’s tenure at its February 24 board meeting, with the matter pushed to June. Chandrasekaran told CNBC-TV18 that he himself recommended deferring the decision and said there would be no change in the group’s functioning. The reported delay comes after a challenging year for the group. According to Bloomberg, the conglomerate faced multiple crises in 2025, including a fatal crash involving Air India, a cyberattack at Jaguar Land Rover, and renewed tensions at majority shareholder Tata Trusts. Tata Trusts, which holds about two-thirds of Tata Sons’ equity, is now chaired by Noel Tata, Ratan Tata ’s half-brother. Bloomberg reported that the chairmanship decision will also indicate how Noel Tata intends to assert his leadership within the group’s governance structure. Uncertainty has also surrounded succession dynamics within Tata Trusts. Noel Tata ’s son, Neville, was appointed as a trustee last year, while Mehli Mistry stepped down as trustee, Bloomberg reported. Separately, CNBC-TV18 reported that the Tata Sons board met at Bombay House on Tuesday but did not take up the matter of extending Chandrasekaran’s tenure, even as his current term is set to end in February 2027. CNBC-TV18 had earlier reported that the board was scheduled to consider granting Chandrasekaran a third five-year term, which, if approved, would extend his leadership until 2032. Chandrasekaran joined the Tata Group in 1987 and previously served as chief executive officer and managing director of Tata Consultancy Services from 2009. He was appointed to the Tata Sons board in October 2016 before being named chairman in 2017. Under his leadership, Bloomberg reported, the group’s 15 largest listed companies nearly doubled revenue and profits, driven by expansion in areas including semiconductors and digital technologies, while steering core businesses through sectoral headwinds. Apart from the leadership issue, CNBC-TV18 said the board is expected to review key business updates across major Tata Group companies. A decision on Chandrasekaran’s tenure, if approved at a later date, would provide continuity at the top of one of India’s largest and most diversified business groups.