On September 23, Tata Group announced the merger of seven of its metal companies into Tata Steel. The decision involved months of planning and many rounds of board meetings; the goal is to bring in simplicity and scale.
Simplicity and scale are exactly what Tata Group chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran wants also for the entire group. Its size is intimidating and complexity baffling—till a while ago, the group had 100-odd companies operating in sectors as diverse as aviation, automobiles, fast-moving consumer goods, tea, software, steel, luxury hotels, power and defence equipment. Different companies within the group were fishing in the same waters. Chandrasekaran—who took over the reins of the group in 2017 and is only the third ‘non-Tata’ to lead the 154-year-old group—had to address this. And, he had to do it the Tata way.
Chandrasekaran, who had an illustrious tenure as the CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, did not shy away from the responsibility. On the one hand, he cut losses by selling non-core and loss-making businesses. On the other, he made several big-ticket acquisitions. He brought in a cluster-based approach that led to various companies of the group working more closely.
TOGETHER BETTER
This story is from the October 30, 2022 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the October 30, 2022 edition of THE WEEK India.
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