N Chandrasekaran chairs first Board meeting as Chairman, Tata Sons

New Delhi: After his appointment as the Chairman earlier today, Natarajan Chandrasekaran chaired his first Board Meeting of Tata Sons Limited."Chandra has successfully displayed his leadership in his career at Tata Consultancy Services.

I am sure he will bring considerable value to his leadership role in the Tata group in the years ahead. I wish Chandra every success for the future," said Ratan N. Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, welcoming the new Chairman.

Speaking ahead of the Board meeting, Chandrasekaran briefed the media on his new roles and responsibilities post his appointment as Chairman."In my new role, I will focus on three strategic priorities: bring the group closer together to leverage its enormous collective strength; reinforce a leader`s mindset among the operating companies and drive world-class operating performances across the group; bring greater rigour to our capital allocation policies and deliver superior returns to our shareholders.

I look forward to working with my colleagues, the management teams and the Boards of the companies towards achieving these goals," revealed Chandrasekaran."It is an honour to lead the Tata group as we near our 150th anniversary.

The Tata group occupies a unique place in the hearts and minds of millions of Indians and also has established an important presence around the world," added Chandrasekaran.Chandrasekaran has now taken over as the Chairman of group operating companies including Tata Power, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Consultancy Services, where he was CEO from 2009-2017. Under his leadership, TCS has become the largest private sector employer in India with the highest retentionrate in a globally competitive industry.TCS remains the most valuable company in India with a market capitalisation of over USD 70 billion.

Under Chandrasekaran`s 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.

A techno-preneur known for his ability to make big bets on new technology, Chandrasekaran has been driving TCS` strong positioning in the emerging digital economy with a suite of innovative digital products and platforms for enterprises, some of which have since scaled into sizeable new businesses.He has been playing an active role in the Indo-US and India-UK CEO Forums.

He is also part of India`s business taskforces for Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan and Malaysia. He served as the Chairman of Nasscom, the apex trade body for IT services firms, in India in 2012-13 and continues to be a member of its governing executive council. (ANI)