N Chandrasekaran’s decision not to seek another term as chairman of Tata Sons brings the spotlight back on the leadership history of one of India’s largest business groups and the two men who stood apart from most of their predecessors — Cyrus Mistry and Chandrasekaran. Chandrasekaran, who took charge of Tata Sons in 2017, announced on Wednesday that he would step down at the end of his current term on February 20, 2027. His departure will set in motion another succession exercise at the holding company of the Tata Group. What distinguished Chandrasekaran was his position outside the Tata family. He became only the second chairman in the group's modern history to take the top job without belonging to the Tata family, following Mistry.
The roots of the Tata business empire go back to 1868, when Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata established a trading company. After his death in 1904, his elder son Dorabji Tata took forward his ambitions, overseeing the group's expansion into areas including steel, power, hospitality and insurance.
Following Dorabji Tata's death in 1932, his cousin Nowroji Saklatvala took charge. JRD Tata succeeded Saklatvala in 1938 and remained at the helm for more than five decades, overseeing a period of significant expansion that included the development of businesses such as Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services.
Ratan Tata succeeded JRD Tata in 1991, at a time when India's economy was opening up. During his tenure, the group considerably expanded its international presence and pursued several major overseas acquisitions. A major departure from this succession pattern came when Ratan Tata stepped down in 2012. Cyrus Mistry, who had joined the Tata Sons board in 2006, was selected to succeed him. Mistry belonged to the Shapoorji Pallonji family, whose group was Tata Sons' largest minority shareholder, but he was not a member of the Tata family.
Mistry's tenure lasted only four years. In October 2016, the Tata Sons board removed him as chairman after differences emerged between him and the group's leadership and majority shareholders.
His removal triggered a prolonged corporate and legal battle. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal later ordered his reinstatement, but the matter reached the Supreme Court, which ultimately upheld Tata Sons' decision to remove Mistry.
Ratan Tata returned temporarily as interim chairman following Mistry's removal while the group searched for a permanent successor.
That search resulted in the appointment of Chandrasekaran, popularly known as “Chandra”, who had spent decades within the Tata system and had risen through the ranks of Tata Consultancy Services.
Chandrasekaran became chairman of Tata Sons in February 2017. His elevation was significant because, unlike Mistry, he was a professional executive who had built his career within a Tata operating company before being entrusted with leadership of the entire group.
His tenure saw the conglomerate expand across technology, automobiles, aviation and other sectors. The group also undertook major restructuring in aviation, including bringing Air India back into the Tata fold and subsequently integrating its airline businesses.
Chandrasekaran's announcement that he will not seek reappointment now opens another important chapter in Tata Sons' succession history.
Under Tata Sons' Articles of Association, a selection committee recommends the candidate for chairman, while the company's board formally makes the appointment. Tata Trusts, which holds the controlling stake in Tata Sons, has a central role in the selection mechanism through its nominees on the committee.
The next appointment will determine whether Tata Sons again chooses a professional executive from outside the family or returns to a leadership model more closely associated with the Tata name.