What were the major achievements of N Chandrasekharan during his five years at the helm of Tata Sons?

As Chandrasekharan gets another 5 year term at the helm of Tata Sons, it is time to look back at some of the major contributions made by Chandra in the last five year for the Tata group as a whole. Let me summarize three such areas.

In a sense, Chandra provided 5 years of clear stability to the group. In the aftermath of the ousting of Cyrus Mistry in late 2016 from the chairmanship of Tata Sons and amidst legal wrangles, the need of the hour was stability and predictability. There was also a need to satiate investors, institutions, lenders and shareholders to restore confidence. That is something Chandra provided amply to the Tata group shareholders over last 5 years.

Let us not forget the big market capitalization boost that the Tata group has seen since Chandra assumed the helm. Chandra brought back the focus on shareholder value. In last 5 years, Tata group market cap appreciated by 190% while Nifty was up 132%. Tata group market cap at $300 billion is the highest. Share of TCS in overall market cap has come down from 85% to 70%. Titan, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Consumer are doing a good deal.

Last, but not the least, Chandra substantially simplified the Tata group businesses. For instance, when Chandra took over in early 2017, every group company was dabbling in every possible activity with little focus on core competency. That was simplified. For example, salt was taken out of Tata Chemicals and rightly integrated with Tata Consumer. Similarly, the defence businesses under various group entities were consolidated.

There were specific turnarounds and also shifts in focus, apart from a big accent on deleveraging. There has undoubtedly been sustained reduction in the debt of companies like Tata Motors and Tata Steel. While TAMO is still making losses, Tata Steel has made the best of the commodity cycle with record profits. More importantly, Tata Motors and Tata Power are now leading the big green shift in their respective industry groups.