N Chandrasekarana appointed as new Air India Chairman

Tata Sons Chairman Natrajan Chandrasekarana has been appointed as the new chairman of Air India. His  appointment was confirmed by the Tata Sons board on March 14, 2022. 

Natrajan Chandrasekarana is the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company and promoter of over 100 Tata operating companies. He joined the Tata Sons Board in October 2016 and was appointed as its Chairman in January 2017.

He currently chairs the boards of several group operating companies including Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Power and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). He was the Chief Executive Officer from 2009-17. He was reappointed as chairman of Tata Sons on February 2022 for a second term of five years. 

The Tata Sons then approached the Corporate Affairs Ministry to seek approval of N Chandrasekaran to chair the boards at a few more group firms, as he has already touched the prescribed limit at the Tata Group.

Natrajan Chandrasekarana

• Natrajan Chandrasekarana studied in a government school in Mohanur in Tamil Nadu. He did his bachelor's in Applied Sciences from the Coimbatore Institute of Technology. 
• He completed Master of Computer Applications (MCA) from the Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirappalli in 1986.
• He joined Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in 1987 after completing MCA and rose through the ranks to become the CEO and Managing Director of the company in October 2009. 
  He had served as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of TCS prior to that. 
• Under his leadership, TCS became the largest private sector employer in India and remains to be the most valuable company in India. 
• N Chandrasekaran is a senior member of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).
• He is also an active member of Computer Society of India and British Computer Society. 
• He was nominated as the NASSCOM chairman in April 2015. 
• He was appointed as additional director on the Tata Sons board in October 2016 when he was the CEO and managing director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
• He became the first non-Parsi and professional executive to head the Tata Group.

Significance

The head of Tata Group has become the head of Air India yet again after a gap of 32 years. Air India founder JRD Tata had been the chief of the carrier for decades after its nationalisation. He remained chairman till February 1978 till the Morarji Desai government moved him from the post. The Indira Gandhi government reappointed JRD Tata to the board of Air India in 1982. Ratan Tata later served as the chairman of the carrier from 1986-87 till early 1990.

With the airlines back at the hand of its founder, there are major hopes for a turnaround in the carrier's fortunes. The Tata group plans to expand Air India’s network, improve service standards and modernize its fleet to make it the world's most technologically advanced airline.

Natrajan Chandrasekarana had said recently that improving Air India’s basic service standards and on-time performance will be top priorities in the coming months for the group.

Who will be new Air India CEO?

The Tata Group will soon announce the new CEO for Air India to replace former Turkish Airlines Chairman Ilker Ayci, who declined the offer after opposition in India. Ayci was scheduled to take charge as Air India CEO and MD before April 1, 2022. He had initially accepted the role but decided to turn it down later saying that his appointment was 'coloured' by the Indian media.

Tata Sons have reportedly finalised the new CEO of Air India after holding discussions in the last few days. The group is looking to get a new CEO onboard quickly to tackle the operational challenges.

Read Also: Ilker Ayci turns down offer to be new Air India CEO