Digitising Tata

Aarthi Subramanian has many similarities with Tata Group Chairperson K. Chandarasekan. Both are committed, aggressive and known for attention to detail. Both are National Institute of Technology graduates with interests in movie, music, books and fitness. And both cut their teeth in IT sector behemoth Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). It is an experience that Subramanian will need to tap more and more as she leads the group's digital transformation to make the businesses future-proof.

Tata Sons has formed a company, Tata Digital, under a grand plan that involves launching a "super app" for food and grocery, fashion and lifestyle, consumer durables, insurance/financial services, healthcare and bill payments, among others. Even legacy companies such as Tata Consumer Products, Tata Steel and Tata Chemicals are expanding their digital footprint to reach customers. In 2017, she was appointed chief digital officer of Tata Group.

Her transformational initiatives at the 152-year-old group are evident. "As CDO, she is responsible for helping group companies in digital transformation and finding new opportunities in business," says a company insider.

At TCS, Subramanian was Executive Director and Global Head of Delivery Excellence, Governance & Compliance. She started as a graduate trainee in 1989 and went on to become an analyst, project manager and then moved from account management roles to senior executive roles.