Governance

N Chandrasekaran was appointed as a Director and Chairman on the Board of Tata Chemicals with effect from November 24, 2020. Mr Chandrasekaran, is the Chairman of the Board at Tata Sons Private Limited, promoter of the Company. He joined the Board of Tata Sons in October 2016 and was appointed Chairman in January 2017. He also chairs the Boards of several group operating companies, including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Air India, Tata Consumer Products, Indian Hotels Company Limited and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) – of which he was Chief Executive from 2009-17.

His appointment as Chairman of Tata Sons followed a 30-year business career at TCS, which he joined from university. Mr Chandrasekaran rose through the ranks at TCS to become the CEO and Managing Director of the leading global IT solution and consulting firm. Under his leadership, TCS generated total revenues of US $16.5 billion in 2015-16 and consolidated its position as the largest private sector employer in India and the country’s most valuable company.

In addition to his professional career at Tata, Mr Chandrasekaran is on the International Advisory Council of Singapore’s Economic Development Board. He is the Chairman of Indian Institute of Management Lucknow as well as the President of the Court at Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru. He is the member of Bocconi's International Advisory Council and the Co-Chair India US CEO Forum.

Mr Chandrasekaran has been conferred with the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in India, in the field of trade and industry in 2022. He also has been awarded several honorary doctorates by leading Universities in India and internationally, including an honorary Doctor of Letters from Macquarie University, Australia, Doctor of Letters from the Regional Engineering College, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, where he completed a Master's degree in Computer Applications before joining TCS in 1987.

Mr Chandrasekaran is also the author of Bridgital Nation, a ground-breaking book on harnessing technological disruptions to bring Indians closer to their dreams.

She holds a BA Degree in Economics from Delhi University and an MBA with specialisation in marketing from the Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi. She is a marketing professional and experienced business leader who has worked with Titan, PepsiCo, Max India and Future Group with stints across the globe, coupled with an abiding passion for people. Her last role was as the Executive Director, Brand and Human Capital of Max India prior to which she was the Director, marketing and customer strategy at the Future Group. She has worked at senior positions in branding, strategy, innovation and human capital around the world. She has been with PepsiCo for 17 years in leadership roles in the areas of marketing and innovation in India, US and UK. She was also one of the founding team members of PepsiCo and Titan watches when they started operations in India. She later moved to PepsiCo's headquarters in the US to be a part of its international marketing team, which was followed by an innovation leadership role in London.

She serves on the Boards of several reputed companies and is also on the Board of Pratham, an NGO that works to provide education to underprivileged children in India.

Heading the TBExG, he is responsible for enabling the Business Excellence journey of Tata companies globally. This role is integral to Group initiatives in enhancing the performance of Tata companies through diagnostics, benchmarking and sharing of best practices. Under his leadership, TBExG helps companies leverage data and process excellence.

His career with Tata group companies began with Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) in 1982 and spans over 35 years. During his 26-year stint in TCS, he held roles such as Executive Director of Human Resources, Head of Application Development and Maintenance, Head of Airlines Practice, Country Manager, TCS Switzerland and position of Executive Director.

Mr Padmanabhan was also the Executive Director-Operations of Tata Power from 6th February 2008 to 30th June 2014, and was responsible for the profitable and sustainable operations of all thermal and hydro generation plants across India and transmission and distribution systems in Mumbai. He was also on the boards of the operating subsidiaries of the company.

Mr Padmanabhan was also the Group Chief Human Resources Officer at Tata Sons. He has a distinguished academic record in the technical and management domain from reputable institutions. He is a Glaxo Marketing Scholar Medallist, a Distinguished Alumnus from IIM Bangalore, and a Gold Medallist and a Distinguished Alumnus from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore. He has completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. He is also a life member of CSI, Senior Member of IEEE.

Mr Padmanabhan is a Director on the Board of Tata Chemicals Limited, Air Vistara and The Associated Building Company Limited.

Ms Kaicker joined the accountancy profession in 1990 after completing her B.Sc. in Mathematics. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, a Certified Public Accountant (USA) and a Diploma holder in Business Finance from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India. She has over 30 years of experience serving large and midsized clients in several sectors in areas of audit, taxation, corporate finance, risk management and corporate governance. She also has expertise in the area of Corporate Advisory, M&A and restructuring activities. Ms Kaicker is serving on the Boards of reputed companies, including being Chairperson of the Audit Committees.

An engineer and a post graduate in business management, he began his career on the shop floor of Tata Motors and rose to be President of its car business before joining the group board of the Aditya Birla group as an executive director, on which he remained for nearly nine years. He has served on several other Indian and foreign boards in various capacities over 21 years and brings deep insights in corporate governance, management and transformation of businesses as varied as auto, metals, mining, power and renewables, cement, trading, textiles, retail and financial services.

An avid sustainability champion, he was an alternate Council Member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Geneva and has been active on several industry bodies.

Currently, Mr Dube is an advisory board member and professor of practice at the Deakin Business School, Melbourne and a senior advisor to firms in India and Australia.