Tata Group shares decline after N Chandrasekaran resigns as Tata Sons chairman

Shares of salt-to-airlines conglomerate Tata Group companies declined up to 4% this morning, led by its cash cow TCS, after N Chandrasekaran resigned as Tata Sons chairman ahead of the group's annual general body meeting (AGM) on August 18.

Shares of TCS, which is the company with the largest market capitalization in the Tata pack, fell over 4% to Rs 2,322. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV) was also down 4% while Tata Consumer, Tata Power fell around 2% each.

The 63-year-old, who led Tata's transformation into newer avenues, such as, airlines, semiconductors, electronics, batteries and digital businesses, will stay until his term as chairman officially runs until February 2027.

Chandrasekaran is also the chairman of TCS, Tata Motors and Tata Consumer Products, among other Tata companies, and has held a central role across the group’s businesses since taking over Tata Sons in 2017.

His resignation comes amid uncertainty over the Aug 18 board meeting and how Tata Trusts, which owns about 66% of Tata Sons, would vote. Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata is seen as opposed to Chandrasekaran’s continuation.

Investors are concerned that a gridlock in the group's multiple decision-making apparatus could weigh down operating businesses.

Chandrasekaran's reappointment decision was deferred by the Tata Sons board on February 24 this year after Tata raised reservations about the performance of the new businesses. Noel Tata was also in favour of a two-year executive term for Chandrasekaran, in line with the group retirement age of 65 for executive roles, ET reported earlier.

His resignation is the latest in the series of turbulent events that has engulfed the group since the death, in late-2024, of long-serving group patriarch Ratan Tata. Since then, there has been infighting among trustees, the departure of many of them, meetings with senior government officials who asked the trustees to insulate the group's business operations from their differences, and so on.

Chandrasekaran took over Tata Sons in 2017 after leading TCS. He became the first professional manager from outside the Tata family to head the holding company after Ratan Tata.

Under him, Tata returned to aviation, acquired Air India and expanded into semiconductors, electronics manufacturing and batteries. The group also increased its focus on digital businesses and electric vehicles. Aggregate revenue rose from Rs7.89 lakh crore in FY20 to Rs16.24 lakh crore in FY26, according to the figures provided by the group. Profit after tax rose more than fivefold, from Rs 32,000 crore to Rs1.71 lakh crore.

The market capitalisation of Tata’s listed companies rose from Rs9.31 lakh crore in FY20 to Rs24.39 lakh crore in FY26, although it was Rs27.85 lakh crore in FY25.