Natarajan Chandrasekaran’s announcement that he will step down as Tata Sons chairman at the end of his term has sparked speculation over who will get the baton.
Long overshadowed by Ratan Tata, the public face of the conglomerate for decades, Noel, 68, rose through less prominent corners of the business, building credentials in retail and trading rather than the group’s flagship companies. He emerged as a central figure only after Ratan’s death in October 2024, Reuters reported. As the Trust begins the process of finding a successor to lead the diversified conglomerate’s holding company, several big names have been doing the rounds. Noel spent years serving on boards across the group. Unlike Ratan Tata, Noel largely shunned publicity.
He is a Tata veteran who joined the group in 1988. He has over 37 years of experience in the mining and metals industry, according to the Tata Steel website. He joined Tata Sons in June 2017. In a career spanning over 30 years, he has served as head of investment banking in India for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, head of corporate finance for India and South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank, and head of strategy at the Aditya Birla Group. Information available on the company’s website says Chandra joined Tata Motors in 1995 as a production manager and steadily rose through the ranks, taking on pivotal roles across multiple functions, including a stint at the Group Strategy Office of Tata Sons between 2013 and 2016.
He chairs the boards of Tata Capital, Tata Play, Tata AIA Life Insurance, Tata AIG General Insurance, Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited, Tata 1mg and Big Basket, according to information available on the Tata Power website. Tata Motors’ Passenger Vehicles Limited and Tata Passenger Electric Motor Limited’s chief executive officer and managing director Shailesh Chandra may also be considered for the top post, according to the Business Standard. Tata Sons Private Limited (Tata Sons) chief financial officer Saurabh Agrawal could also be in the race to replace Chandrasekaran as Tata Sons chairman, Business Standard reported.
Narendran has spent his entire career in the company, and has led it for years. He is currently on the boards of Tata Steel Limited and Tata International Limited and he is the chairman of Tata Steel Europe. The company is the holding firm of the Tata group of companies. Agrawal is on the boards of Tata Steel, Voltas and Tata Digital.
