N Chandrasekaran has been approved for the third term as Chairman of Tata Sons.
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran has scored a historic ‘hat-trick’ in the group, which even Ratan Tata could never do. In a first departure from Tata Group’s retirement policy, Tata Trusts has approved a third executive term for Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, people familiar with the matter said, reported ET. Chandrasekaran will be 65 when his second term ends in February 2027. As per group rules, executives are expected to step down from such positions at the age of 65, although they can continue in non-executive positions till the age of 70.
One person said that to maintain continuity of work, it was felt that executive leadership is necessary to complete important projects like semiconductors, batteries for electric vehicles and Air India. The person said the trusts’ proposal had been sent to Tata Sons, which will definitely take a decision while approving a third term from 2027.
This will happen for the first time in the group
Senior officials related to this matter, quoting media reports, said that Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan had proposed a third executive term of five years for Chandrasekaran in the meeting of Tata Trusts on September 11. This proposal was approved unanimously. However, Tata Trusts has not made any comment. As per rules, the new tenure is approved a year before its expiry and accordingly, the decision will be formalized in February next year by Tata Trusts, which holds 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons, the group’s holding company. This is the first time that a group executive will continue in an active executive role even after the retirement limit.
This extension comes amid differences within Tata Trusts over whether Tata Sons should remain in private hands. Some trustees are now reconsidering the resolution passed in July that Tata Sons should remain privately owned. Against this backdrop, Chandrasekaran’s continued executive leadership is considered crucial to steering the group through a difficult period.
extension not unexpected
Ketan Dalal, MD of consulting firm Catalyst Advisors, said in an ET report that this expansion may seem unusual, but given the critical juncture the group is at, it is not entirely unexpected. He said Tata is an extraordinary and respected group, but it is currently grappling with internal and external challenges, ranging from the Air India incident and rising geopolitical tensions to growing market pressure over a potential IPO of Tata Sons. He further said that at the same time, the group is also making bold bets in strategic growth areas like semiconductor, defense and aviation. Chandrasekaran was given a second five-year term in February 2022. Chandrasekaran, a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) veteran, first joined the board of Tata Sons in October 2016 and was appointed chairman in January 2017.
How did you perform under the leadership of Shekharan?
Under the leadership of N Chandrasekaran, the Tata Group spent Rs 5.5 lakh crore in the last five years, almost doubling revenues and more than tripling net profit and market cap. Revenue from all listed and non-listed entities in FY 2025 was Rs 15.34 lakh crore, while net profit was Rs 1.13 lakh crore. However, in the last one year, the market cap of the group has declined by about Rs 6.9 lakh crore to Rs 26.5 lakh crore by October 10, 2025, due to a decline of about 30 per cent in the share price of TCS, the largest company of Tata Group.
During his tenure, Tata Sons’ net worth increased to Rs 1.49 lakh crore from Rs 43,252 crore in 2018. Under his leadership the Group also established new businesses to take advantage of key opportunities. These include the entry of Tata Electronics in the field of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, assembly and testing. Tata Digital has established an omni-channel platform with digital app Tata New, while also foraying into electronics (Croma), grocery (BigBasket), pharmacy and diagnostics (Tata 1MG) and fashion (Tata Cliq). Moreover, Air India returned to the Tata group after 69 years. Vistara and AirAsia India were merged into Air India and Air India Express respectively. Tata Group also acquired Tejas Networks, is building an indigenous mobile network stack and setting up battery gigafactories in India and the UK.