2 weeks ago

Tata Group's chairman succession: Who gets keys to Bombay House?

Tata Group's chairman succession: Who gets keys to Bombay House?
Best of the Week: Who gets the keys to Bombay House? · livemint.com

The Tata Group is one of India's biggest and oldest families of companies, like a giant shop that sells steel, cars, power, clothes and much more.

For the last nine years, a very important leader named Natarajan Chandrasekaran has been in charge, like a head teacher of the whole shop.

Now he has said he wants to stop being head teacher, so everyone is asking: who will take his place?

Some people who work at different Tata companies are good choices because they know the business very well.

The Tata family also has grown-up children, Neville and Maya, who have done good work, so some people think the family should lead again.

To pick a new leader, a special group of five people needs to be formed, but one of the supporting groups is stuck in a problem with the law right now.

There is a big meeting planned for August 18, but because of that legal problem, the meeting might not be able to happen, and money that is owed to owners might be late.

That money is important because it helps pay for libraries, schools and other good causes.

So the Tatas are trying to figure out both who should lead next and how to get unstuck from the legal mess, and lots of people are watching to see what they decide.

Key facts

Outgoing Chairman
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, 9 years at the helm
Top Contenders
T V Narendran (Tata Steel) and Praveer Sinha (Tata Power)
Family Contenders
Neville Tata (Trent's Zudio) and Maya Tata (Tata Digital)
Selection Committee
Five members: 3 nominated by the two Tata Trusts, 1 by the Tata Sons board, 1 independent
Legal Hurdle
Sir Ratan Tata Trust frozen by Maharashtra charity commissioner's order since mid-May
Upcoming AGM
18 August; possible adjournment for lack of quorum if trust issue persists
Stake
Dividend payouts to shareholders and Tata Trusts' philanthropic funding could be delayed
Succession Planning Gap
Noel Tata raised succession planning twice in 18 months but got only vague reassurances

Sources

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