Tata Sons hunts for new finance director

Tata Sons, the unlisted holding company of the $83.3-billion Tata Group, is looking to appoint a new finance director as Ishaat Hussain has become a non-executive director on the board after turning 65 early this month.

Cyrus Mistry, the designated successor to Chairman Ratan Tata, is currently the only exective director on the company’s board. Other directors on the board playing the non-executive role include Arunkumar Gandhi, R K Krishna Kumar, R Gopalakrishnan and Farrokh K Kavarana. Tata will retire in December as the chairman, when he turns 75.

When contacted, a Tata Sons spokesperson said: “The company does not give guidance on such matters.” However, a person familiar with the development confirmed there would be a new finance director in the company.

Hussain, a Tata Group veteran, joined the board of a Tata Steel associate Indian Tube Co in 1981. In 1983, he moved to Tata Steel board when the associate was merged with the parent. He served Tata Steel as a director finance for a decade before moving to Tata Sons as executive director in 1999.

He became director finance at Tata Sons in July 2000 and after over 12 years of service that saw the group increasing international footprint through global acquisitions such as Corus and Jaguar Land Rover, he moved to the non-executive position. Hussain holds a degree in economics from St Stephens College in Delhi and is a chartered accountant of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Hussain is expected to serve the role of non-executive director for the next five years when he turns 70.

The holding company that decides the retirement age for non-executive directors across the group, upped their retirement age to 75 in 2005. But again in 2011, it brought down the retirement age to 70. However, the directors who have crossed 70 are allowed to continue till the age of 75.

There has been speculation in the past that Koushik Chatterjee, chief financial officer at Tata Steel, would succeed Hussain as the finance director at Tata Sons. But this could not be confirmed.