N. Chandrasekaran

Natarajan Chandrasekaran (known as Chandra) was born June 2, 1963, in Mohanur, Tamil Nadu, in a farming family. He attended the Coimbatore Institute of Technology and received a bachelor's degree in applied sciences, followed by a master's degree in computer engineering from the Regional Engineering College in Tiruchirappalli. In 1987, he joined Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as an intern and served 30 years at TCS, becoming Chief Operating Officer in 2007 and Chief Executive Officer in 2009.

Career History

• Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services (2009-2017)
• Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, TCS (2007-2009)
• Various senior roles at TCS during 30-year tenure (1987-2016)
• Chairman, Tata Sons (January 2017-present)

Under Chandra's leadership at TCS, the company became India's most valuable company and consolidated its position as the largest private sector employer in India. He was the first chairman of Tata Sons with no relation to the Tata family through either blood or marriage, marking a historic transition to professional management. At Tata Sons, he chairs boards of several group operating companies including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Air India, Tata Consumer Products, and Indian Hotels.

His achievements have been recognized internationally: he received the Padma Bhushan (India's highest civilian award) in 2022, France's Légion d'Honneur in 2023, and was conferred as an Honorary Knight of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2025. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by leading universities including Macquarie University, Nyenrode University, and the Regional Engineering College Trichy. Since becoming Chairman of Tata Sons, he has driven transformation toward digital, sustainability, and supply chain resilience, expanding into semiconductors, electronics manufacturing, and battery technology, while overseeing the historic acquisition of Air India.

What N. Chandrasekaran could bring to Tata Sons: With three decades of IT services excellence and proven expertise scaling India's most valuable company, Chandrasekaran has demonstrated exceptional capability in navigating global markets, building organizational culture, and executing large-scale transformations. His international board experience and multilateral business relationships position him uniquely to drive the Tata Group's diversification into emerging sectors including semiconductors and sustainable technologies while maintaining the conglomerate's operational excellence and ethical foundations.