Tata Sons mulls leadership structure revamp, may create CEO role

Indian multinational conglomerate Tata Sons is planning a leadership structure revamp by creating a chief executive officer (CEO) role to improve corporate governance.

Under the proposed plan, the CEO will guide Tata Sons' businesses, while the chairman will supervise the CEO on behalf of the shareholders, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Tata Sons is considering an extension for the current chairman N Chandrasekaran, while the heads of various Tata Group subsidiaries are being considered for the position of CEO. The top management has not yet arrived at a final decision and the plan and details could still change, the report said.

The approval of Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts which owns a majority stake in Tata Sons, will be the key for the revamp in leadership structure.

The new group CEO will have an array of challenges to deal with. While Tata Steel is looking at cutting its net debt of $10 billion, Tata Motors has been making losses for three consecutive years through March 2021.

The Tata Group is also planning a Super App which will have categories ranging from electronics, groceries, fashion and lifestyle to  beauty, travel, health, education and entertainment.

The Mumbai-based conglomerate employs over 7,50,000 people and had annual revenue of $106 billion in 2019-20. The 153-year-old Tata Group has presence in sectors like steel, tea, cars and trucks, insurance, software, packaged salt, among others.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

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