The power struggle shaking one of the world's largest corporations

The Tata Group, India's largest corporation in terms of assets and turnover, operates more than 90 companies in the automotive, steel, aviation, and technology sectors, including Air India, Jaguar, and Land Rover. It is now at the center of a storm that could reshape its future.

What began with the retirement of a veteran chairman has quickly turned into a management crisis in one of the world's largest business empires.

This week, the drama reached its peak: the Tata annual general meeting, scheduled for August 18, was postponed after the board of directors failed to reach the necessary quorum — a condition without which a valid meeting cannot be held.

At the same time, the group's chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, who has headed Tata for nearly a decade, announced that he would not extend his tenure after it ends in February 2027. Behind the decision are months of tension between him and the body that holds control over the group.

Chandrasekaran is no stranger to power struggles at the top. His entry into the role in 2016 also occurred after a sharp confrontation that led to the ousting of the previous chairman, Cyrus Mistry.

Factors of instability

At the heart of the confrontation between the chairman and the controlling owners are questions regarding the group's future: the heavy investments in Air India, the airline's financial situation, and the possibility of a Tata IPO on the Indian stock exchange. The market value of the group's companies is estimated at approximately 31.8 trillion rupees ($320 billion).

Shares of several prominent companies in the Tata Group have fallen in the past week amid the tension. The timing is particularly problematic for the group, as several of its core businesses are simultaneously facing heavy challenges.

Most notable is the group's main profit source, Tata Consultancy Services, which is in the midst of turmoil as the IT industry in India tries to adapt to a business world reshaped by artificial intelligence.

Another problematic arena is Air India. A preliminary analysis by Airbus published recently pointed to multiple hydraulic failures on a company flight from Phuket to Delhi earlier this month — failures that caused a sudden drop of 300 feet and injured 24 people. The airline, which was acquired under Chandrasekaran's leadership, more than doubled its losses in the previous fiscal year.

Control structure

Many of the crises with chairmen at Tata stem from the group's control structure, which is still largely in the hands of the Tata family, who founded the company in 1868.

Tata is the conglomerate's holding company, and about 66% of its shares are held by Tata Trusts — charitable trusts associated with the Tata family. This means the family does not manage the companies directly, but through the trusts, it holds significant power over the identity of the people who will manage them.

At the head of the trusts is Noel Tata, the half-brother of Ratan Tata, who was the public face of the group from the 90s until his death in 2024.

Ratan Tata served as the group's chairman for 21 years, until he stepped down from the role in 2012. But even after that, he continued to head the trusts and exert a decisive influence on the group until his death in 2024. He was also the one who appointed Chandrasekaran as chairman of the conglomerate. Now, Noel Tata, who heads the trusts, is expected to be a central figure in the committee that will choose the next chairman.

As the group tries to navigate an uncertain environment and formulate a new investment plan against the backdrop of the technological revolution, every step Noel takes — and especially the process of choosing the new chairman — will be closely scrutinized. At the same time, the crisis provides ammunition for regulators, who are seeking to promote a public offering of Tata given its size and national strategic importance.