From Farmer to Corporate Legend: The Inspiring Story of N Chandrasekharan, Tata Sons’ New Chairman

[JANASENA]

After more than two months of high-profile boardroom battle at the Tata Group, Natarajan Chandrasekaran has been named the new chairman of Tata Sons. Fondly called ‘Chandra’ by people at Bombay House, Tata Group’s headquarters, Chandrasekaran is a true insider.

Natarajan Chandrasekharan

Photo Source

The 53-year-old joined TCS in 1987, rose through the ranks to become CEO in 2009, and and is credited for its spectacular turnaround. Today, TCS is the most successful Indian IT company valued at $67 billion – that’s 60% of the group’s market value and 70% of Tata Son’s revenue.

It is an incredible achievement, to start off at the very bottom and manage to reach the pinnacle of corporate success. But it’s something that the Chandrasekaran’s family is used to.

Natarajan Chandrasekaran was born in an agricultural family in the village of Mohanur in Tamil Nadi. One of six children, Chandrasekaran’s father was a lawyer but when his grandfather died, his father had to look after the family farm that grew bananas, rice and sugarcane. A man who believed in the power of hard work, Chandrasekharan’s father taught him lessons in frugality, honesty and perseverance that held him good stead throughout his life.

 

 

N Chandrasekharan

Photo Source

As a kid, Chandrasekharan and his brothers would walk 3 km everyday to their Tamil medium government school. For the senior secondary exams, he switched to English medium. After passing 10th grade, he moved to Trichy (in Tamil Nadu) to study further. He later recalled in an interview how the experience of staying away from home and family had come as a big change for him.

After a bachelor of science (BSc) in applied sciences from the Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Chandrasekaran went home and stayed back six months to to see whether he would happy taking up agriculture as a profession. After four-five months, he realized that he was not cut-out for agriculture and thought of becoming a chartered accountant. However, by then, he had missed the CA admissions for the academic year.

Chandrasekaran then decided to apply for master’s in computer applications from the Regional Engineering College, Trichy, in 1986. He had no idea that this decision would go on to change his life. In the final year of his master’s programme, he took up a project with TCS, and never looked back—starting as a software programmer and rising to the helm of the company where he learnt the ropes of the IT business.

 

Photo Source

He never attended any management school nor does he read much management literature. He learnt about team building and customer management through his work that took him to different places for different projects. In 1999, he started the firm’s e-business unit. Under him, it grew it to an over $500 million segment in just four-and-a-half years.

It was here that Chandraskeran was groomed under the watchful eyes of his mentor, S. Ramadorai (the then CEO of TCS). Thanks to his mentor’s guidance and his own business acumen, Chandrasekharan’s rise in TCS was fast.

In September 2007, he was co-opted on the TCS board and named the chief operating officer (COO) of the company. His first move was to set up integrated, customer-centric units to enhance customer focus, drive operational agility and address new growth opportunities. In October 2009, he eventually succeeded S. Ramadorai as CEO and MD of TCS at age 46, becoming one of the youngest CEOs of the Tata group.

Steering the conglomerate through what was a tough time for the world economy and the IT industry, Chandrasekaran proved his mettle when, under his watch, TCS’s revenue tripled from $6.3 billion to over $16.5 billion. Other than becoming India’s largest private sector employer, his reign also saw TCS taking important steps towards new technologies like artificial intelligence, internet-of-things and blockchain.

Photo Source

Despite his many contributions to the company, Chandrasekharan wears his achievements lightly. An affable, unassuming and approachable leader, he has a phenomenal capacity for remembering people. According to those who work under him, corridor conversations with Chandrasekharan can revolve around not only the executives themselves but also their families.

The personal touch has allowed the CEO to remain connected with employees. His mentor, S Ramadorai once said that “the ability to build world class teams and value systems” were Chandrasekaran’s biggest strengths.  He delegates a lot and keeps up the pace and enthusiasm level when a project is on. Interestingly, Chandrasekharan is a cricket fan and often uses cricketing terms and metaphors while setting targets!

 

Chandrasekharan is an avid runner

Photo Source

The corporate legend also has a soft side. Chandrasekaran once flew back from the US to attend to his dog Ray, a Beagle, who had cancer. Ray died in 2014 at age seven, after struggling with the disease for many months. To de-stress, he likes reading books and listening to south Indian classical music, especially old Tamil film songs that remind him of his village home.

Chandrasekaran also enjoys participating in marathons and has run around eight half-marathons. He now runs on Mumbai’s beaches at 5 am every day, some days going as far as 16 kilometres. In many of his interviews, he has mentioned how running (which he started to stave off diabetes) has made him calmer, more observant and taught him to persevere.

A small-town boy who chose programming over ploughing, the newly-anointed Chairman of Tata Sons is the very definition of tenacity. Having been handed the baton at Tata Sons at perhaps the most difficult time in the history of the over $100 billion Tata Group, Natarajan Chandrasekaran has his job cut out for him. How he fares is yet to be seen, but he has time, determination and experience on his side. As a seasoned marathon runner, he will know that that’s a huge advantage.

[nandananditha]

Pani bokka ledhu media ki apatlo Mistry ganiki alane echaru publicity

Yevaru kadhu vayya India lo 60% ki agricultural back ground untadhi

Asalu 26/11 lo NE tata gadini bokka lo 10gali