Tata Sons looks outward for group CFO's position

Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry is building a team of young leaders that would stay with him for long

Tata Sons has shortlisted candidates for the group chief finance officer (CFO)’s position.

The board has been without a finance director in the executive role after Ishaat Hussain became a non-executive director in September at the age of 65.

“The shortlisted candidates are not from the group but from outside,” said a source. “The new chief finance officer will have broader responsibility to oversee the group’s mergers and acquisitions,” the person. Earlier, Arunkumar Gandhi was the chief deal maker for the group. He retired last year.

“These matters are internal to the company. As and when we have an announcement to make, we will inform you,” said a Tata Group spokesperson.

Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry, 45, is building a team of young leaders that would stay with him for long. The group’s holding company, Tata Sons, in 2011 reduced the retirement age for non-executive directors to 70. This led to the Tata Sons board shrinking to five members when Ratan Tata retired as chairman. F K Kavarna will retire as a non-executive director in March. Mistry will be the only executive member left.

But Mistry is in no hurry to fill the board positions. He has been busy creating his own team under the board. He has set up a Group Executive Council, to drive group-level strategies. The first member was Madhu Kannan, 40, who heads business development. The chief for group finance is also expected to join the council.

Meanwhile, the Tata trusts, which own the majority stake in Tata Sons, have nominated Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria, 51, and former defence secretary Vijay Singh to board as non-executive directors.

The $100-billion group is aiming for $500 billion in turnover by 2022. This would require a spate of acquisitions across the globe, making the role of group CFO critical.