After months of intense boardroom drama, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran has announced his intention of stepping down next February, ending a 10-year tenure at the helm of the group. Chandrasekaran, who had the backing of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust for a third term, could not secure the support of Noel Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts, which collectively own 66 percent of Tata Sons. Under the holding company’s bylaws, the chairman’s appointment requires unanimous support. Noel’s objections reportedly stemmed from concerns over steep losses in several new ventures, excessive capital expenditure on high-risk businesses and mounting losses from acquisitions such as Air India and BigBasket. Unable to resolve the deadlock, Chandrasekaran deferred a vote on his reappointment at the February 24 board meeting. With no resolution in sight after months, he decided against seeking another term when his tenure ends on February 20, 2027.
The exit leaves the ₹16-lakh-crore Tata Group facing a crucial question: who will lead the conglomerate into the future? In his statement released Wednesday, Chandrasekaran too stressed the need for clarity on the group’s leadership beyond February 2027.
The succession comes at a challenging time for the group. Air India incurred a net loss of ₹22,238 crore in 2025-26, more than double the ₹10,859-crore loss in 2024-25. Tata Digital, which houses new-age businesses such as 1mg and BigBasket, deepened its loss to ₹4,974 crore from Rs 4,610 crore a year earlier. Even TCS, the group’s cash cow in recent decades, faces an uncertain future as artificial intelligence reshapes the technology services industry.
The group’s challenges extend beyond financials, with boardroom battles adding to the pressure. Tata Sons is also facing regulatory pressure from the RBI to get the entity listed—a scenario the group has been trying to avoid. Amid such internal strains and leadership churn, the group needs to make tough choices to steer the conglomerate through an increasingly challenging and rapidly evolving business environment. With the clock already ticking on getting the succession right, the group needs to be careful to avoid repeating mistakes of the past, particularly the leadership crisis that followed the appointment and subsequent removal of Cyrus Mistry, who had the shortest tenure as Tata Sons chairman. A steady hand at the helm is needed for the choppy seas ahead.