The search for the next chairman of Tata Sons appears to have moved into its early stages, with Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata meeting former HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh in Mumbai on Wednesday, reported Times of India.
The meeting took place at the Taj Wellington Mews Residences in the presence of a fellow Tata Trusts trustee, a day after the Tata Sons annual general meeting was adjourned.
The discussions are believed to be part of the process of setting up a Selection Committee that will recommend a , who has decided not to seek another term as chairman of Tata Sons after his current tenure ends on February 20, 2027.
Whether Parekh has been formally offered a place on the proposed committee is yet to get clarity as neither Noel Tata’s office nor Parekh have talked about it.
The appointment of the next Tata Sons chairman is not expected to be a straightforward board-level decision.
The company’s Articles of Association provide for a formal Selection Committee to identify and recommend a candidate for the chairmanship, as long as the Tata Trusts continue to meet the prescribed shareholding requirement.
Under Article 118, the five-member committee is to have three members jointly nominated by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, one member nominated by and from the Tata Sons board, and one independent member from outside the group.
The committee’s role is to recommend a candidate. The final appointment is to be made by the Tata Sons board.
This structure gives the Tata Trusts a significant role in the process because they collectively hold about 66% of Tata Sons and have specific governance rights under the company’s Articles.
Tata Trusts had already indicated that the process would begin soon after Chandrasekaran announced his decision. The trustees of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust passed a resolution on August 13 to initiate the setting up of the Selection Committee in accordance with the Articles of Association.
Wednesday’s meeting between Noel Tata and Parekh therefore seems as the Trusts move from announcing the process to working out its composition.
Chandrasekaran’s decision followed months of uncertainty over his reappointment.
His current five-year term ends on February 20, 2027. The Tata Trusts had unanimously recommended extending his tenure for another five years, and the proposal was subsequently recommended by the Tata Sons Nomination and Remuneration Committee and the board.
However, when the resolution was placed before the Tata Sons board on February 24, 2026, it did not receive unanimous support because one board member opposed it. Given the delicacy of the situation, Chandrasekaran chose to defer the decision rather than proceed without unanimous backing for his name.
Six months later, with no resolution reached, Chandrasekaran announced on August 12 that he would not offer himself for reappointment when his current term expires.
In his statement, he said that Tata Sons was a large institution with several strategic projects at critical stages and that clarity over leadership was important for employees, investors, partners and other stakeholders. He also asked the board to decide on succession to ensure a proper and smooth transition.
The decision does not mean Chandrasekaran is leaving Tata Sons immediately. He will continue as chairman until the end of his existing tenure in February 2027.
Other than this, thethe backdrop of another important issue for Tata Sons which is its potential public listing.
Tata Sons has been classified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as an upper-layer NBFC. This is a category that normally requires companies to list within a prescribed period. In its attempt to get out of it, the company had applied to surrender its NBFC registration. But the RBI has yet to resolve the application, leaving the IPO question open.
As Tata Trusts have sought to keep the holding company unlisted, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Tata Sons’ second-largest shareholder, has pushed for a listing. Nonetheless, Chandrasekaran in his tenure, has been involved in the company’s efforts to address this regulatory issue and avoid a mandatory IPO for the company.
The succession comes nearly a decade after Chandrasekaran took over as Tata Sons chairman in 2017, becoming the first non-Tata family member to hold the position on a permanent basis.
His tenure has coincided with a major expansion and restructuring of the group. This includes the group’s entry into semiconductor manufacturing, expansion in electronics, the consolidation of its aviation businesses and the revival of several large-scale capital expenditure plans.
The next chairman, will therefore inherit a group with businesses spanning technology, automobiles, steel, aviation, consumer products and hospitality.
The transition is also being watched closely because Tata Sons sits at the centre of the Tata Group. The holding company controls or has significant stakes in some of India’s largest listed companies, including Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Titan.
For now, however, the immediate task is to put the succession machinery in place.
The composition of the five-member Selection Committee, the people it considers and ultimately the candidate it recommends will determine the next phase of Tata Sons’ leadership. With Chandrasekaran set to remain in office until February 2027, the group has several months to complete the process and ensure a transition at the top.