Tata Sons chairman Chandrasekaran takes pilot seat till Air India gets CEO

Tatas took charge of Air India on January 27. Since then, the airline has been without a designated chief

As Tata Sons chairman, N Chandrasekaran chairs the board of several group companies. But his appointment as Air India chairman, which was made public on Monday, is somewhat different. As chairman, he will steer the operation of the recently acquired airline until a chief executive is found, according to people in the know.

In a rare development, Chandra, as he’s popularly known, is likely to be named ‘accountable manager’ of Air India. Accountable manager has corporate authority for ensuring that all tasks of the airline are financed and carried out to the standard required by the stipulated law. Typically, an airline