Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran Seeks Deferment Of Extension Talks

India's salt-to-semiconductors conglomerate Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran has reportedly sought a deferment of discussion on his reappointment, after disagreements broke out in the board meeting of Tata Sons on Tuesday.

Several board members backed Chandrasekaran, arguing that losses at one group company should not eclipse the group's overall performance or the chair's contribution over the years, according to media reports. 

While some directors called for a vote, Chandrasekaran requested for a deferral. 

The board of directors at Tata Sons had approved Chandrasekaran's third executive term till 2027, marking the end of his extension till February next year.  Ahead of the Tata Sons board meet today, expectations were rife that N Chandrasekaran would receive another 5-year term extension, marking his chairmanship extension till 2032.

The reappointment requires a special resolution and an exception to Tata Sons’ retirement policy, which restricts non-executive leadership roles beyond the age of 65.

After the ouster of Cyrus Mistry in 2017, N Chandrasekaran took over the reins, enhancing the image of global trust at Tata Group. Ahead of assuming chairmanship role at Tata Sons, which is the principal holding company of Tata companies, he served 30 years in Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS), including 8 years as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.

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At the Tata group, Chandrasekaran has pursued the “One Tata” strategy, based on the themes of simplification, scale, and synergy. Now he is driving transformation of the Tata group in an AI driven world.

He has steered the group into new businesses including semiconductors, electronics manufacturing, consumer internet platform, mobile technology and battery giga-factories.

Besides Tata Sons, he also chairs the Boards of Tata Steel Limited, Tata Motors Limited (formerly TML Commercial Vehicles Limited), and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited (formerly Tata Motors Limited) among other Tata entities. 

Over the past five years, the Tata Group has roughly doubled revenue and recorded a curve that signals tripled net profit and market capitalisation.

The delay in this crucial decision comes against mixed financial cues. In FY25, Tata Sons reported 24% rise in revenue to Rs 5.92 lakh crore, however the net profit slipped 17% to Rs 28,898 crore, as per its annual report.