N Chandrasekaran is a long distance man. The 53-year-old new boss of the $100 billion Tata conglomerate has been described as a Tata lifer, with his entire career spent with the group starting 1987, when he joined fresh out of college. So began a three-decade journey from an intern at Tata Consultancy Services or TCS, to the head of the company and now chairman of the group. He is also a marathon runner.
Mr Chandrasekaran will be the first non-Parsi to lead the 150-year-old group. He will take over as chairman of Tata Sons, the group's holding company, on February 21, 2017, from Ratan Tata who served as interim chairman since October when Cyrus Mistry was ousted from the post.
"Congratulations, Chandra. You are now custodian of an Indian Icon. You have broad enough shoulders to assume that responsibility!" tweeted executive chairman of Mahindra group, Anand Mahindra.
In 2009, Mr Chandrasekaran took over as the CEO of India's biggest outsourcer. Under Mr Chandrasekaran's leadership, the revenues of TCS grew over three times to over Rs 1 lakh crore in 2015-16. TCS, the crown jewel of the Tata group, contributes around 80 per cent to the Tata group's profit.
Beyond the corner room office, Mr Chandrasekaran is an avid photographer, and a passionate long-distance runner who has completed several marathons around the world. His strict physical regimen helps him keeps medicines at bay despite being a diabetic for long. "Irrespective of the time zone I'm in, I'm out running at 5 am every day," Mr Chandrasekaran once told reporters.
Mr Chandrasekaran has been the driving force behind TCS' strong positioning in the emerging digital arena, which has helped TCS to weather the changing IT landscape better than some of its peers. Even in the latest December quarter, TCS beat market expectations by reporting a net profit of Rs 6,778 crore, with a strong show in digital business.
Mr Chandrasekaran is also a board member of Reserve Bank of India. He has also served as the chairman of NASSCOM, the trade association of Indian IT companies, and was the chairperson of the IT Industry at the World Economic Forum, Davos, for 2015-16.
As the head of the Tata Group, Mr Chandrasekaran inherits also a slew of problems across diverse sectors, including a legal battle with ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry.
"At the Tata group, we are at an inflection point. I am aware that this role comes with huge responsibilities. It will be my endeavour to help progress the group with the ethos, ethics and values that the Tata group has been built on," Mr Chandrasekaran said after being appointed as Tata Sons chairman.
Under his leadership, TCS was rated as the world's most powerful brand in IT services in 2015 and recognised as a global top employer by the Top Employers Institute across 24 countries.
Mr Chandrasekaran has a Masters in Computer Applications from the Regional Engineering College, Trichy in Tamil Nadu.
(With Agency inputs)
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