Chandrasekaran is one of the biggest leaders in India in the line of business. Currently, he is the COO as well as the Executive Director of Tata Consultancy Services besides being the Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group, and reportedly, the first non-Parsi executive head of Tata Group. He recently headed G20 India and is going to spearhead the business agenda.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran was born in 1963 in Mohanur. It is now part of the state of Tamil Nadu. He graduated in Applied Science from Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, and an MCA from the National Institute of Technology in Tiruchirappalli.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran: Biography
| Name | Natarajan Chandrasekaran |
|---|---|
| Born | June 1963 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Residence | Namakkal, Tamil Nadu |
| Education | Coimbatore Institute of Technology National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli |
| Profession | Businessman |
| Title | Chairman of Tata Sons and Group, Board Member of Tata Sons, Board Member of IIM Lucknow |
| Spouse | Lalitha Chandrasekaran |
| Children | Pranav (son) |
| Salary | Annual package of INR 135 crore (as per 2024) |
Natarajan Chandrasekaran: Early Life
Natarajan Chandrasekaran: Family
Natarajan Chandrasekaran: Career Highlights
Chandrasekaran: Awards and Recognition
Chandrasekaran: Facts
Natarajan Chandrasekaran: Early Life
Chandrasekaran has been working for TCS since 1987 and was appointed CEO in the year 2009. He is also a life member of IEEE, Senior Member, and Computer Society of India. In the year 1987, he was associated with TCS where his career shot up from COO to executive director, and even climbed up to the level of CEO in 2009.
Some other memberships include being an associate member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a member of the British Computer Society, and of course Computer Society of India.
Pratiksha Bajikar
Natarajan Chandrasekaran: Family
Chandrasekaran is born into a Hindu Tamilian family in Mohanur, Tamil Nadu, India. At present, he is living with his wife Lalitha in Mumbai. He is a marathoner with his personal best in the TCS New York City Marathon of the year 2014 within 5 hours 00 mins 52 secs.
The couple is quite private and has low public profiles, especially on matters of family. He is very spiritual and has undertaken the Char Dham Yatra multiple times. Although he has a very high-profile career, he is known for his simple life and his focus on work-life balance.
Shevaughn Pimenta
Natarajan Chandrasekaran: Career Highlights
We observe the strategic step by Chandrasekaran in 2016 in taking over the Chairmanship of Tata Sons by vote of the board which had voted to remove Cyrus Mistry. NCLAT pronounced its verdict on Tata Sons in 2018 following a case initiated by Cyrus Mistry in 2016 who two months after his removal as Chairman raised allegations of mismanagement against Tata Sons. In 2019, the Tribunal restored Mistry as Chairperson to complete his remaining term.
In January 2020, Tata Sons presented an appeal to the Supreme Court of India against the judgment given by NCLAT. Mistry said that he was willing to continue as a non-executive member of the board but not return as the Chairperson.
Chandrasekaran is the first Chairman of Tata Sons, who is not from the Tata family, nor even Parsi. Some of the most memorable events of his tenure are:
- Tata Group took over Air India in 2022. It has been given the final task of the modernization and rebuilding of an airline that has become drowned in mountains of debt through five decades of mismanagement.
- By the fiscal year 2022-2023, Tata Group’s revenues collectively stood at $150 billion.
- Renovated the iconic Tata headquarters – Bombay House. He also addressed the concerns of Ratan Tata about the well-being of stray dogs living in the building.
- Led the company to provide more online products and embedding AI into internal processes
Kanimozhi Sivakumar
Chandrasekaran: Awards and Recognition
Natarajan has received several awards and recognition from the business community. Some of them are:
- Best CEO of the year – Institutional Investor’s Annual All-Asia Executive Team rankings (2010-2015) and Business Today
- Institutional Indian of the Year in the Business category in 2014 by CNN-News 18
- Indian Business Icon in 2015 CNBC TV 18 Qimpro Platinum Standard Award 2015
- Featured by India Today in its 2017 edition of India’s 50 Most Powerful People.
- Padma Bhushan for his contribution toward excellence in the field of trade and industry in 2022 by Government of India
- Knight of the Legion of Honour in 2023 conferment by Emmanuel Macron, President of France Frans Baninck Cocq Medal from the city of Amsterdam
He has also received multiple honorary doctorates from:
- 2010 – SRM Institute of Science and Technology
- 2012 – KIIT University
- 2013 – Gitam University
- 2013 – Nyenrode Business Universiteit
- 2014 – Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad
- 2017 – National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli
- 2021 – Aligarh Muslim University
Vivek Dev Jacob
Chandrasekaran: Facts
- He is one of the earliest non-Parsi chief executives of India’s most prestigious business houses-Tata Group.
- He is also an avid marathon runner who last ran at a fast time in 2014 at the TCS New York City Marathon in 5 hours 52 seconds.
- In recognition of his work in the sphere of industry and trade, he was given Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2022.
- In 2023 he was invested in the Honour of Knight of the Legion by French President Emmanuel Macron.
- Natarajan has been assigned the responsibility of carrying forward the business agenda for India’s G20 presidency.
- He was conferred honorary doctorate degrees by Aligarh Muslim University, NIT Tiruchirappalli, and Nyenrdoe Business Universiteit.
- He was the CEO of TCS before becoming the Chairperson of Tata Sons Group
- Natarajan has been voted as Asia’s Top CEO by multiple agencies and has been declared as one of the ‘50 Most Powerful People’ by India Today
- He is also on multiple boards such as RBI, NASSCOM, and the IT Industry Governors’ group
FAQ
Is Natarajan Chandrasekaran related to Tata?
No, Natarajan Chandrasekaran is not related to the Tata family; he is the Chairman of Tata Sons.
Who is the current CEO of Tata Sons?
The current CEO of Tata Sons is Natarajan Chandrasekaran.
What is the education of Natarajan Chandrasekaran?
Natarajan Chandrasekaran holds a master’s degree in computer applications (MCA) from the Regional Engineering College, Trichy (now NIT Trichy).