Natarajan Chandrasekaran (born 2 June 1963) is an Indian businessman, and the chairman of

Tata Sons Tata Sons Private Limited is the parent company of the Tata Group and holds the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants. It is a privately owned conglomerate of ...

. He was

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

(COO) and executive director of

Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an Indian multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company with its headquarters in Mumbai. It is a part of the Tata Group and operates in 150 locations across 46 countries. In July ...

(TCS), where in 2009, he became

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

(CEO). He was also the chairman of

Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company, headquartered in Mumbai, India, which is part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses. Formerly known as Tata Eng ...

and Tata Global Beverages (TGB). He became the first non-

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

and professional executive to head the

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continents ...

. He has assumed the chair of B20 India and will lead the business agenda during India’s G20 presidency.

Education and career

Chandrasekaran studied in a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Government school in

Mohanur Mohanur (Tamil : மோகனூர் ) is a taluk in the Namakkal district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Mohanur Panchayat Union includes Mohanur Town, Pettapalayam, Manappalli, Rasipalayam, Kumaripalayam, Sengappalli, Ediyar, Perama ...

. He later received a bachelor's degree in applied sciences from the

Coimbatore Institute of Technology Coimbatore Institute of Technology (CIT) is a government-aided autonomous engineering college located in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1956 by V. Rangaswamy Naidu Educational Trust. It is affiliated to Anna University. His ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. He earned his Master of Computer Applications (MCA) from the

Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirappalli National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli (NIT Tiruchirappalli or NIT Trichy) is a public technical and research university near the city of Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded as Regional Engineering College Tiruchirapp ...

(now

National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli (NIT Tiruchirappalli or NIT Trichy) is a public technical and research university near the city of Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded as Regional Engineering College Tiruchirapp ...

), in Tamil Nadu, India, in 1986. Joining TCS in 1987, Chandrasekaran took over as CEO on 6 October 2009, prior to which he was COO and executive director of TCS. Chandrasekaran is a senior member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and an active member of

Computer Society of India Computer Society of India is a body of computer professionals in India. It was started on 6 March 1965 by a few computer professionals and has now grown to be the national body representing computer professionals. It has 72 chapters across India ...

and British Computer Society. He was nominated as the chairman of Indian IT industry body

NASSCOM The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) is an Indian non-governmental trade association and advocacy group, focused mainly on the technology industry of India. Established in 1988, NASSCOM is a non-profit organis ...

in April 2015.

Career

Chandrasekaran has spent his career in TCS, joining the company in 1987 after completing a Masters in Computer Applications from

Regional Engineering College, Trichy National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli (NIT Tiruchirappalli or NIT Trichy) is a public technical and research university near the city of Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded as Regional Engineering College Tiruchirap ...

in Tamil Nadu. Under his leadership TCS has generated consolidated revenues of US$16.5 billion in 2015-16. With over 556,000 consultants, TCS has become the largest private sector employer in India. TCS remains the most valuable company in India ended 2015–16 with a market capitalization of over US$70 billion. In 2015 TCS was rated as the world's most powerful brand in IT Services, and was recognized as a Global Top Employer by the Top Employers Institute across 24 countries. On 25 October 2016, Chandrasekaran, then CEO and managing director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), was appointed an additional director on the Tata Sons board.

2018/2019 NCLAT verdicts

The Tata Sons board voted to remove

Cyrus Mistry Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (4 July 1968 – 4 September 2022) was an Indian businessman. He was the chairman of the Tata Group, an Indian business conglomerate, from 2012 to 2016. He was the sixth chairman of the group, and only the second (af ...

from the Chairmanship of Tata Sons on 24 October 2016. In July 2018, the

National Company Law Tribunal The National Company Law Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body in India that adjudicates issues relating to Indian companies. The tribunal was established under the Companies Act 2013 and was constituted on 1 June 2016 by the government of India ...

(NCLAT), issued a verdict in favor of Tata Sons on charges of mismanagement leveled by Mistry in 2016, two months following his ousting as chairman through a

vote of non-confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

. On 10 July 2018, Mistry stated that he would appeal the decision. In December 2019, the Tribunal reinstated Mistry as the Chairperson of Tata Sons for his remaining term, and declared that the appointment of Chandrasekaran as executive chairman was illegal.

2020 Supreme Court

In January 2020, Tata Sons appealed to the Supreme Court of India against NCLAT's decision. Mistry stated that he would not return to the Chairmanship of the conglomerate, but was interested in reserving his seat in the company's board. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice S. A. Bobde and Justices B. R. Gavai and Surya Kant stayed NCLAT's order while hearing Tata Sons' appeal on 10 January 2020. The bench stated, "We find there are lacunae in the judicial orders passed by the NCLAT." The Supreme Court also ordered that Tata Sons will not exercise power under Article 25 of the Company Law for pushing out shares of minority holders in the company.

Personal life

Chandrasekaran was born into a Tamil family in

near

Namakkal Namakkal () is a special grade municipality and the headquarters of Namakkal district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the first ISO 14001-2004 certified municipality in Asia for environmental management, specifically the provision ...

in Tamil Nadu, India. He resides in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, with his wife Lalitha. Chandrasekaran is an avid photographer, music aficionado and a passionate long-distance runner who has completed marathons in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, New York and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. He completed his fastest marathon or personal record (PR) at TCS New York City Marathon (2014) with a finishing time of 5 hr 00 min 52 sec.

Awards and recognition

* Chandrasekaran has received several awards and recognition in the business community. India's central bank, the

Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible f ...

appointed him as director on its board in 2016. * Mr. Chandrasekaran was also conferred with Honorary, Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) Honoris Causa Degree by Aligarh Muslim University at special annual convocation ceremony in 2021. * In Mar. 2022, Chandrasekaran has been honoured with

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

by Government of India under Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...

for excellence in Trade and Industry * He has served as the Chairperson of the IT Industry Governors’ at the WEF, Davos in 2015-16. Aside from being a member of Indo–US CEO Forum, he is also part of India's business taskforces for Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan and Malaysia. * He served as the chairman of

, the apex trade body for IT services firms in India in 2012-13 and continues to be a member of its governing Executive Council. * He was voted as the ‘Best CEO’ for the fifth consecutive year by the Institutional Investor's 2015 Annual All-Asia Executive Team rankings. During 2014, he was voted as one of CNBC TV 18 - ‘Indian Business Icons'. * He was also awarded CNN- IBN Indian of the Year 2014 in business category. * Chandrasekaran was presented with the "Best CEO for 2014" by Business Today for the second consecutive year. * He has also received the Medal of the City of Amsterdam Frans bannick Cocq in recognition of his endeavor to promote trade and economic relations between Amsterdam and India. * He was awarded Qimpro Platinum Standard Award 2015 (Business) and Business Today’s Best CEO 2015 (IT & ITEs). * Chandrasekaran was conferred with the

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

by JNTU, Hyderabad, India (2014). * He has received Honorary Doctorate from Nyenrode Business Universiteit, Netherlands' top private business school (2013). * Chandrasekaran has also been conferred honorary degrees by many Indian universities such as the

Gitam University Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) is a private deemed university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Founded by the late Dr M. V. V. S. Murthi in 1980 in Visakhapatnam, it also has campus in Hyderabad and Bengaluru ...

(2013)

KIIT University Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), formerly KIIT University, is a private deemed university located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. It primarily emphasizes on higher education and research in engineering and science. It offers 3 ...

(2012); and the

SRM Institute of Science and Technology SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), formerly SRM University, is a private higher education institute deemed to be university, located in Kattankulathur, Chengalpattu (near Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1985 as SRM Eng ...

(2010). * He was also awarded as the performer of the month in Feb. 1999 for his best administration. * In April 2017, ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...

'' magazine ranked him #10th in India's 50 Most powerful people of 2017 list. * On 12 August 2017, Chandrasekaran was conferred the degree of

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

(''Honoris Causa'') by his alma mater

References

External links

Tata.com
*
World Economic Forum

Viva la e-volution - A blog by N.Chandrasekaran

Fortune India

Knowledge at Wharton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandrasekaran, Natarajan Living people 1963 births Tata Consultancy Services people National Institutes of Technology alumni Indian chief executives People from Namakkal district National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli alumni Reserve Bank of India