Tata Group has appointed Natrajan Chandrasekaran as the chairman of Air India after the former Turkish Airlines declined the offer.
The Tata’s board approved the appointment on Monday.
N Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons, officially appointed as the chairman of Air India
(file photo) pic.twitter.com/ik7Pf11Iri
— ANI (@ANI) March 14, 2022
Tata group had previously roped in former Turkish Airlines executive Ilker Ayci as the chief executive of Air India, but later, he chose to opt-out from this role.
Mr Ayci oversaw significant cost-cutting at Turkish Airlines, which played a role in his appointment as the cash-strapped carrier’s first CEO in mid-February.
The reason behind Ayci’s backing out from the CEO post is not clear, but it is believed that his proximity to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised many eyebrows in India.
Mr Chandrasekaran is the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company and promoter of over a century old Tata operating companies. He became a part of the Board of Tata Sons in October 2016 and later became Chairman in January 2017.
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He also serves on the boards of many of the group’s operational companies, including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where he served as CEO from 2009 to 2017.
Mr Chandrasekaran joined TCS as a graduate trainee and worked for 30-year there before heading to the post of chairman. He worked his way up through TCS’s ranks to become CEO and Managing Director of the world’s largest IT solutions and consulting organization.
Besides, Mr Chandrasekaran is a board member at the Reserve Bank Of India and a member of the International Advisory Council of Singapore’s Economic Development Board.
He was the third non-Tata and first Non-Parsi to handle the rein as a chairman, after Nowroji Saklatwala and Cyrus Mistry.