Who is Shailesh Chandra, Tata Motors' new MD & CEO starting October?

Shailesh Chandra, who currently heads Tata Motors' passenger and electric vehicle businesses, will take charge as the company's new managing director and CEO from October 2025

Tata Motors on Friday unveiled a big leadership reshuffle as the company gears up to hive off its commercial vehicle division into a separate listed entity, TML Commercial Vehicles Limited (TMLCV), effective October 1, 2025.

 

The announcement includes key changes at the top, with Shailesh Chandra set to take over as managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tata Motors. His appointment signals the automaker’s focus on passenger vehicles and the fast-growing electric mobility segment.

 

Major leadership transitions

 

Three big shifts will take place as part of this restructuring:

• Shailesh Chandra, who heads Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, has been appointed MD and CEO of Tata Motors for a three-year term starting October 1. He will lead the passenger and EV businesses.

 

• Girish Wagh, currently executive director and key managerial personnel (KMP) at Tata Motors, will step down on October 1 to become the MD & CEO of the newly-formed TMLCV

• PB Balaji, group CFO and KMP, will leave his role on November 17 to become CEO of Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc in the UK. On the same day, he will join the Tata Motors Board as a non-executive, non-independent director and also serve on the boards of both Tata Motors and TMLCV.   

 

Who is Shailesh Chandra?

 

Shailesh Chandra has been named as the MD & CEO of Tata Motors. He currently serves as Joint MD of Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles and passenger electric mobility businesses.

 

Chandra joined Tata Motors in 1995 as a production manager. Over the years, he moved through various leadership roles, including Senior Manager in vendor development and divisional manager at Telco/Tata Motors. In 2012, he was promoted as deputy general manager in the vice chairman’s Office, Mint reported.

 

In 2013, Chandra moved to Tata Sons Limited, where he worked in the group chairman’s office, first as general manager (group strategy) and later as assistant vice president.

 

He rejoined Tata Motors in April 2016 as head of corporate strategy and business transformation. Soon after, he was appointed president of the passenger vehicles unit and the electric mobility business, playing a central role in Tata’s push towards electrification.

 

By 2022, he had risen to CEO and MD of both the passenger vehicles and passenger electric mobility units, positions he continues to hold today.

 

Alongside his leadership at Tata Motors, Chandra also serves as a non-executive director on the boards of Tata Technologies Limited and Fiat India Automobiles Pvt. Ltd.  Internationally, he is on the boards of Trilix Srl, Italy, and Tata Motors Design Tech Centre Plc, UK.

 

Chandra holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Banaras Hindu University. He also earned an executive MBA from the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai.