Leadership 'crisis' hits Tata Digital amid multiple top-level exits

Amreesh Kher's exit adds to CEO vacuum at Tata Digital amid employee concerns

Tata Digital is grappling with mounting leadership uncertainty as Amreesh Kher, chief business officer of insurance, has exited the firm, said company sources and industry players.

This is at a time when the company is yet to name a new chief executive officer (CEO). 

Kher’s departure comes in the wake of former CEO Naveen Tahilyani’s exit amid growing employee anxiety over lack of a clear command structure, they added. 

It comes despite Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran stepping in with interim measures. Kher had joined Tata Digital in December 2023, and was a key executive under the leadership of former CEO Naveen Tahilyani for growing the insurance business under Tata Neu’s financial services umbrella.

 

It could not be immediately ascertained where Kher is headed. According to the sources and industry players, the recent leadership vacuum at Tata Digital has led to growing uncertainty and confusion. 

 

This follows Chandrasekaran’s announcement — in an internal email — of appointing Sunil D’Souza, CEO Tata Consumer, and Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Indian Hotels, to Tata Digital’s board. 

To manage this vacuum, Chandrasekaran has also constituted a ‘management council’ comprising six senior executives, who will report to the Board on a weekly basis. 

“The management council, with inputs and guidance from the Board, will run Tata Digital until the new CEO is appointed,” read the email written by Chandrasekaran to the employees of Tata Digital, which Business Standard has reviewed.

The management council consists of Hardeep Guru, chief financial officer; Gaurav Hazrati, chief business officer — financial services; Satyam Mehra, chief strategy officer; Seshadri Narasimhan, chief business officer; Abhimanyu Lal, chief marketing officer; and Vinay Vaidya, chief technology officer. 

Even though Chandrasekaran will remain closely engaged with the Board and the management council, employees within the company are finding the situation ambiguous and unsettling, the sources added.

A detailed email sent to Tata Digital did not elicit any response. 

“There is no clear leader to look at, or who will be taking decisions on a daily basis. Both Chhatwal and D’Souza are running their own businesses. The management council seems to be operating in silos. Who is engaging with the rest of us? There is no clear leadership,” said a concerned employee. The leadership vacuum is already impacting morale in the company, with many opting to work from home rather than coming to office, a company executive said. 

“Last week, there were hardly any people in my team who came to the office. There are at least 10 people who sit in the same area where I sit. But last week, there were just two or three who came,” added another source within the company. 

Another employee wonders why no one from the management council reached out to them? 

“If they are going to look into the day-to-day activities, then why have we not been approached by anyone in the management council team? Yes, the email from the chairman gives some clarity but we cannot write to him for every-day issues,” said another employee. 

Industry sources concur that since launch in 2021, Tata Digital is perhaps in one of the most precarious situations.

 

Tata Sons has invested about ₹19,000–20,000 crore in Tata Digital till date. And, an additional ₹250-300 crore per year has been given as IPL sponsorships.

 

 “At the end of these four years, the company is now struggling to find a leader. And, the chairman of the group has to step in at a time when there are other pressing issues in front of the group,” said a senior executive of an ecommerce firm. 

Tahilyani did bring the much-needed focus and improvement in the financial performance due to cost control and grew the financial services business. 

The financial services segment witnessed significant growth, with co-branded credit cards reaching 1.18 million, becoming the fastest growing co-branded credit card in India.

 

Tata 1MG turned profitable and Bigbasket narrowed its losses. 

Tata Digital, saw its losses for FY24 at ₹1,200.82 crore. Losses for FY23 came in at ₹1,370.09 crore, according to the FY24 annual report of Tata Sons. 

Revenue for FY24 almost doubled from ₹204.35 crore in FY23 to ₹420.51 crore. The company also reported gross merchandise value (GMV) at ₹37,355 crore. There has been 20.76 million transacting customers this year.