A man who bet big on new technology, N Chandrasekaran, headed the group's cash cow TCS before his elevation today as Chairman of Tata Sons, to become the first non-Parsi Chairman of the 150-year-old group.
A 'technopreneur' known for his penchant for innovations, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, popularly known as 'Chandra' will see his responsibility multiplied manifold in leading the USD 103 billion conglomerate from being at the helm of TCS that clocked USD 16.5 billion revenue in 2015-16.
Among the younger CEOs in Tata group firms, Chandra had led TCS to be voted as the world's most powerful brand in IT services in 2015. Under him TCS became the largest private sector employer in India with over 3.71 lakh consultants.
In his new role as the Executive Chairman of Tata Sons, the promoter of the major operating firms of the group, Chandra will have his task cut out in leading over 6.6 lakh employees across over 100 countries.
As he takes over at the helm of the group, which is going through a turbulent time after the sacking of Cyrus Mistry as Tata Sons chairman, Chandra will need to bring to his new role all his skills in leading TCS to be recognised as a global top employer by the Top Employers Institute across 24 countries in 2015.
A man who personified with the TCS culture of "commitment to a culture of customer centricity, its reputation for long-term customer partnerships and its focus on innovation", the new head of the Tata group will also have to don the hat of a visionary in leading the conglomerate in the 21st Century.
Already he has been driving TCS towards a strong positioning in the emerging digital economy with a suite of innovative digital products and platforms for enterprises, some of which have since scaled into sizeable new businesses.
A Tata lifer, Chandra joined TCS in 1987 as intern after completing Masters in Computer Applications from Regional Engineering College, Trichy, Tamil Nadu.
Although he has managed to stay away from the spotlight, Chandra is a respected leader in the industry, having served as the Chairperson of the IT Industry Governors' at the WEF, Davos in 2015-16. He has also been playing an active role in the Indo-US and India-UK CEO Forums.
Besides, he is also part of India's business taskforces for Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan and Malaysia. He served as the chairman of NASSCOM, the apex trade body for IT services firms in India in 2012-13 and continues to be a member of its governing Executive Council.
Born in 1963 in Tamil Nadu, currently he lives in Mumbai with his wife Lalitha and son Pranav. An avid photographer, he is also passionate long-distance runner having completed several marathons around the world including Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, Mumbai, New York, Prague, Stockholm, Salzburg and Tokyo.
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