MUMBAI: As the Tata Trusts, which own more than two-thirds of the group holding company Tata Sons, has confirmed that it will set up search panel to appoint a successor to outgoing chairman N Chandrasekaran, who announced his decision to part ways with the group on completion of his term next February, the moot question is who will the Trusts chairman Noel Tata-led panel choose?
According to two sources, the most likely candidate is the Tata Steel head TV Narendran. Another possible pick could be Saurabh Agarwal, the group chief financial officer, but he stands lesser chance.
“The biggest advantage that Narendran has is that the trusts chairman Noel Tata and he have developed close personal relationship over the years since Tata has become the vice-chairman of Tata Steel in March 2022,” the sources told TNIE Thursday.
Another key advantage that Narendran has is his long association with the Tatas-- nearly four decades. But at 61, the age is not on his side, given that the rules mandate the chairman to retire on completion of 65 years-- a practice that Ratan Tata began, the sources added.
But Agarwal doesn’t have this advantage as both have not worked or interacted much at personal level, the sources pointed out.
Earlier in the day, a Tata Trusts source told this newspaper that the Sir Dorabji Tata Trusts would soon finalise a search committee to appoint a successor to Chandra and the panel would most likely be headed by Noel Tata.
A five-member search panel to choose the chairman of Tata Sons has been made mandatory under Article 118 of the Tata Sons’ articles of association since November 2024. This has also made it clear that going forward the same person cannot simultaneously be the chairman of the trusts and the holding company. The Ratan Tata was the last person to hold both the positions.
Under article 118 of Tata Sons’ articles of association, a selection committee is required to be constituted to identify and recommend a candidate for the chairmanship, provided the Tata Trusts continue to meet the prescribed shareholding requirement in Tata Sons which is 45% of the total equity, each of which is valued at over Rs 5 crore.
Of the five-member search panel, three will be jointly nominated by the SDTT and the SRTT, one from the Tata Sons board and the fifth member will be an independent person from outside the group but recommended by the board of Tata Sons.
The 61-year-old Thachat Viswanath Narendran, hailing from Trichy in Tamil Nadu, is the global chief executive and managing director of Tata Steel since 2013 and later assumed the role of global chief executive of the sprawling alloy major which earns almost two-thirds of revenue from overseas.
Like Chandra, he also been the Tata group since 1988 and began his Tata Steel stint after graduating from the IIM-C with the sales and marketing, and had been instrumental in helping build the Tata Tiscon brand. Before assuming the role of the CEO, in 2013, he led operations in Southeast Asia and headed the company's India operations.
He earned his Bachelor's in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (now NIT Trichy) and did his post-graduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta in 1988.
The 57-year-old Saurabh Agrawal was picked by Chandra from the Birlas in June 2017 as the group chief financial officer and an executive director of Tata Sons. He is on the boards of Tata Steel, Voltas and Tata Digital. At the Birlas Agrawal headed of corporate strategy.
He was instrumental in pushing through Ultratech Cement’s acquisition of Jaiprakash Associate and also the restructuring of Grasim and Aditya Birla Nuvo apasrt from the merger of Idea with Vodafone.
An investment banker for nearly two decades, Agrawal was previously regional head of corporate finance (South Asia) for Standard Chartered Bank. He was also head of investment banking at DSP Merrill Lynch.
Agrawal is a chemical engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, and has a post-graduate management degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.