Natarajan Chandrasekaran

Natarajan Chandrasekaran (born 2 June 1963) is an Indian businessman, and the chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group.[1][2] He was chief operating officer (COO) and executive director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where in 2009, he became chief executive officer (CEO).[3][4] He was also the chairman of Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages (TGB). He became the first non-Parsi and professional executive to head the Tata Group.[5] He has assumed the chair of G20 India and will lead the business agenda during India's G20 presidency.[6]

Natarajan Chandrasekaran
Chandrasekaran, c. 2013
Born (1963-06-02) 2 June 1963 (age 61)
Mohanur, Madras State
(present day Tamil Nadu), India
Alma mater
OccupationBusinessman
TitleChairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group
Board member of
SpouseLalitha Chandrasekaran
AwardsPadma Bhushan (2022)

Education and career

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Chandrasekaran studied in a Tamil Government school in Mohanur. He later received a Bachelor's degree in Applied Sciences from the Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu.[7] He earned his Master of Computer Applications (MCA) from the Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirappalli (now National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli), in Tamil Nadu, India, in 1986.[8] Joining TCS in 1987, Chandrasekaran took over as CEO on 6 October 2009, prior to which he was COO and executive director of TCS.[1] Chandrasekaran is a senior member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and an active member of Computer Society of India and British Computer Society. He was nominated as the chairman of Indian IT industry body NASSCOM in April 2015.[citation needed]

Career

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2018-2019 NCLAT verdicts

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The Tata Sons board voted to remove Cyrus Mistry from the Chairmanship of Tata Sons on 24 October 2016.[9][10]

In July 2018, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLAT), issued a verdict in favor of Tata Sons on charges of mismanagement leveled by Mistry in 2016, two months following his ousting as chairman through a vote of non-confidence.[11] On 10 July 2018, Mistry stated that he would appeal the decision.[12]

In December 2019, the Tribunal reinstated Mistry as the Chairperson of Tata Sons for his remaining term, and declared that the appointment of Chandrasekaran as executive chairman was illegal.[13]

2020 Supreme Court 

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In January 2020, Tata Sons appealed to the Supreme Court of India against NCLAT's decision.[14] Mistry stated that he would not return to the Chairmanship of the conglomerate, but was interested in reserving his seat in the company's board.[15] A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice S. A. Bobde and Justices B. R. Gavai and Surya Kant stayed NCLAT's order while hearing Tata Sons' appeal on 10 January 2020.

The bench stated, "We find there are lacunae in the judicial orders passed by the NCLAT."[16]

Personal life

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Chandrasekaran was born into a Tamil, Hindu family in Mohanur near Namakkal in Tamil Nadu, India.[17][18] He resides in Mumbai, with his wife Lalitha. As a marathon runner, he completed his fastest marathon or personal record at TCS New York City Marathon (2014) with a finishing time of 5 hr 00 min 52 sec.[19][20]

Awards and recognition

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Chandrasekaran has received several awards and recognition in the business community, including honorary doctorates from Nyenrode Business Universiteit (2013), Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (2014),[citation needed] National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (2017),[21] and Aligarh Muslim University (2021),[citation needed] as well as other honorary degrees from SRM Institute of Science and Technology (2010), KIIT University (2012), Gitam University (2013).[citation needed]

He has also been named one of the best CEOs of the year by the Institutional Investor's Annual All-Asia Executive Team rankings (2010-2015)[22] and Business Today (2013-2015).[23] In 2014, he was named CNN-News18 Indian of the Year in the business category[24] and voted as one of CNBC TV 18 - ‘Indian Business Icons'.[citation needed] In 2015, he earned the Qimpro Platinum Standard Award 2015 (Business).[citation needed] In 2017, India Today named him on their list of "India's 50 Most Powerful People".[25]

In 2016, Chandrasekaran was named board director for the Reserve Bank of India.[26] He has also served as a chairperson on various boards, including for NASSCOM (2012-2013) and IT Industry Governors’ at the WEF, Davos (2015-2016).[citation needed]

In March 2022, the Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan for excellence in Trade and Industry.[27] On 16 May 2023, he was awarded knight of the Légion d'Honneur   France by the President of France Emmanuel Macron.[28][29] He has also received the Medal of the City of Amsterdam Frans bannick Cocq.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "N Chandrasekaran takes over as TCS CEO". Business-standard.com. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  2. ^ "N Chandrasekaran takes over as CEO of TCS". The Times Of India. 7 October 2009.
  3. ^ Vijayraghavan, Kala; Philip, Lijee (14 January 2017). "Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran may follow leadership style of JRD Tata". The Economic Times.
  4. ^ Mandavia, Megha; Kalesh, Baiju (18 February 2017). "Post Mistry feud, Tatas putting their house in order as N Chandrasekaran gets cracking as new chief". The Economic Times.
  5. ^ "Marathon man: Tatas pick first non-Parsi and professional executive as group chairman". Reeba Zachariah. The Times of India. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Livemint- N Chandrasekaran will assume the chair of B20 India". 7 December 2022.
  7. ^ "'Wasn't academically brilliant, but would put mind and heart into duty', says Natarajan Chandrasekaran elder brother". Rajesh Chandramouli. The Times of India. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Sundowner with N Chandrasekaran". The Economic Times. 16 February 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  9. ^ "Tata Sons Board replaces Mr. Cyrus P. Mistry as Chairman, Selection Committee set up for new Chairman". 24 October 2016. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Ratan Tata to replace Cyrus Mistry as Tata Sons chairman – The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Ratan Tata welcomes NCLT verdict". The Economic Times. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Tata welcomes NCLT verdict but Cyrus Mistry says he will challenge ruling". The Economic Times. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  13. ^ Chitravanshi, Dev Chatterjee & Ruchika (18 December 2019). "Tata vs Mistry: NCLAT restores Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Sons". Business Standard India. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Tata Sons moves SC challenging NCLAT decision restoring Cyrus Mistry as executive chairman". The Economic Times. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2020.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ Upadhyay, Jayshree P. (5 January 2020). "Cyrus Mistry shuns top posts at Tata companies, seeks board seat". Livemint. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Supreme Court stays NCLAT order restoring Cyrus Mistry as executive chairman of Tata Group". The Times of India. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  17. ^ "Archived copy". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ "Meet N Chandrasekaran, the man from Namakkal appointed as Chairman of Tata Sons". The News Minute. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  19. ^ "Search at Athlinks.com at Athlinks.com". www.athlinks.com. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  20. ^ "Home". NYRR. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  21. ^ "Doctor of Letters conferred on Tata Sons Chairman". The Hindu. 13 August 2017. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  22. ^ "2015 All-Asia Executive Team Pays Tribute to Trailblazers". www.institutionalinvestor.com. 6 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  23. ^ "India's Best CEOs 2014". www.businesstoday.in. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  24. ^ "List of winners of Indian of the Year 2014". News18.com. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  25. ^ "India's 50 powerful people". India Today. 14 April 2017.
  26. ^ "TCS chief N Chandrasekaran appointed to board of Reserve Bank". www.businesstoday.in. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  27. ^ Bureau, The Hindu (21 March 2022). "Gen. Rawat, Ghulam Nabi Azad, N. Chandrasekharan conferred Padma awards". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 March 2022. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  28. ^ @e_lenain (16 May 2023). ""Dear Natarajan Chandrasekaran, you are a tru friend of France."" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. ^ "'You are a friend of France': Tata Sons' N Chandrasekaran conferred with France's highest order of merit". 17 May 2023.
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Business positions
Preceded by Chairman of Tata Group
2017–present
Incumbent