Tata Succession Plan: Senior executives and family scions seen in early list for top job after Chandrasekaran's exit

Tata family members and a handful of senior executives, including Tata Steel Ltd.’s Thachat Viswanath Narendran, are emerging as contenders to lead the 158-year-old conglomerate, according to people familiar with the matter.

The search began after Natarajan Chandrasekaran said he would step down as chairman of Tata Sons Pvt. when his term ends in February, setting off an unexpected leadership transition at a group that is a household name across India.

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Besides Narendran, chief executive officers of group companies such as Tata Power Co.’s Praveer Sinha, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd.’s Shailesh Chandra and Tata Chemicals Ltd.’s Ramakrishnan Mukundan are in the early list, said the people, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. From the founding family, patriarch Noel Tata’s children have also drawn attention — particularly 32-year-old Neville, the only son, they said.

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The views of Noel, chairman of Tata Trusts — the collective of 13 charities that control the group’s holding company — will carry significant weight in determining who takes charge, the people said. Noel believes Tata companies should be run by sector experts rather than bankers, and is known to favor insiders who have demonstrated competence and loyalty, they said.

That makes Narendran, the 61-year-old CEO and managing director of Tata Steel, a strong candidate to run Tata Sons based on his credentials. A Tata lifer who joined in 1988, he rose through the Tata Administrative Services — the group’s in-house leadership program modeled on national civil service.

He has overseen rapid expansion and balance-sheet strengthening of Tata Steel, and is also one of the two CEOs Noel regularly consults, the people said.

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Sinha is the other executive that Noel turns to for advice — giving him visibility in the succession discussions


Beyond the group’s operational leaders, names of founding family members are in discussions after their recent induction into the Tata Trusts as trustees. Instead of pursuing the role himself, Noel may seek to elevate his son Neville, or daughter Maya to the top job, the people said.

Neville Tata currently works at group fashion retailer Trent Ltd., while Maya has worked with Tata Digital Pvt.

At Trent, Neville helped turn brands like Zudio into value-fashion powerhouses. Coupled with his board role at the Tata Indian Institute of Skills, his background in modern consumer strategy has brought new skills to a Tata Trust board traditionally focused on grants and governance.

Similarly, Maya Tata built her experience in digital commerce and online retail at Tata Capital and Tata Digital, the unit behind its flagship online platform Tata Neu and e-commerce push BigBasket, and 1mg.

Representatives for Tata Sons and Tata Trusts did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Noel Tata, Neville, Maya, Narendran, Sinha, Shailesh Chandra and Mukundan could not be immediately reached for comments.

The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, one of the trusts controlling Tata Sons, said in a statement Thursday that it seeks “a smooth, timely, and orderly transition of leadership, consistent with the values and long-term interests of Tata Sons and the Tata Group.”

The board also hasn’t ruled out an external candidate to guide the conglomerate through its ongoing multi-billion-dollar investment programs, the people said.