Chandrasekaran sought time to take over as Tata chief

N Chandrasekaran or Chandra, as he’s popularly known, was asked to take charge as chairman of Tata Sons with immediate effect on Thursday, when the board of directors approved the appointment, sources said. 

But Chandra wanted at least a month to settle things at Tata Consultancy Services, where he has been at the helm since 2009. 

A month later, February 12, would fall on a Sunday. So it was decided that the next best date for him to start leading the group be fixed as February 21.

A day after his elevation as Tata Sons chairman, people in the know opened up to talk about the developments leading up to the big announcement and thereafter. 

No champagne bottles were opened, nor were cakes cut. A standing ovation at the TCS office was perhaps the only sign of celebration, they said.

As for competition, the final race is believed to have been between only two — Chandrasekaran and Hindustan Unilever non-executive Chairman Harish Manwani. 

However, sources said that initially, when the search committee had begun the process of selection, British industrialist George Buckley appeared to be a strong candidate for the post of Tata Sons chairman. Ultimately, it had to be an Indian and a Tata insider competent to lead the $103-billion conglomerate, according to sources. 

What also clicked with the search committee was the fact that Chandra was down to earth and did not give glib answers to questions posed by the panel during interviews. “There was no attempt to act smart,” a source pointed out. 

The search committee — comprising interim chairman Ratan Tata, TVS Group Chairman Venu Srinivasan, Bain Capital’s Amit Chandra, Ronen Sen and founder of Warwick group Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya — kept the names of those in the race a secret, as requested by the candidates. 

While the identity of the people considered for the top job will remain a matter of speculation, it is learnt that the search committee had just four to five meetings in two and a half months to arrive at Chandra’s name as the best bet. 

All in complete secrecy and in undisclosed locations, to keep away from prying eyes. 

After removing Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Sons on October 24 last year, the group had said a new head would be in place within four months. 

Chandra’s appointment was announced on Thursday, about one and a half month ahead of the deadline, perhaps because Ratan Tata was in a hurry to complete the process and get back to real business, sources said.