A day after sudden sacking Cyrus Mistry as Chairman of Tata Group, interim chief Ratan Tata on Tuesday asked Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the group firms to focus on their respective business without being distracted by change in top leadership.
“The companies must focus on their market position vis-à-vis competition, and not compare themselves to their own past. The drive must be on leadership rather than to follow,” Tata said, adding that an institution must exceed the people who lead it.
Meanwhile, Tata Sons has also appointed Dr Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar land Rover (JlR) and N Chandrasekaran, CEO & Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as Additional Directors on the Board. Commenting on their appointment, Tata said, “This is in recognition of their exemplary leadership in their companies.”
Commenting on their appointment, Tata said: “This is in recognition of their exemplary leadership in their companies.”
With the appointments of Speth and Chandrashekharan, Tata Sons board has expanded to 12 members.
On Monday, Tata Sons - the holding company of Tata Group - voted out Mistry in its board meeting. Tata also met all CEOs of the group companies to talk about ongoing initiatives. “We will evaluate and continue to undertake those (steps) that are required to. If there is any change, they will be discussed with you,” Tata told the top executives of over $100 billion conglomerate.
Tata Sons’ board has nine members including Tata himself. Six of them are said to have voted out Mistry while two abstained from voting. Mistry, but naturally, opposed the decision.
However, top sources said that Tata did not discuss the reasons that led to the sudden removal of Mistry. Tata, who was at the helm of the group for 21 years before passing on the baton to Mistry in December 2012, said he has assumed the role of the Interim Chairman for stability and continuity so that there is no vacuum. “This will be for a short time. A new permanent leadership will be in place,” he added.
Mistry, 48, who was appointed as the Group Chairman in December 2012, was only the sixth Chairman in nearly 15 decades and the first from outside the Tata family. He will remain a director of the individual companies, though his tenure as Chairman is the shortest so far at the group.
Under Ratan Tata’s chairmanship spanning over two decades (1991 to 2012), the Group’s revenue grew from around $6 billion to over $100 billion, driven by his expansionist strategy that included overseas purchases like tea maker Tetley in 2000 and luxury car company Jaguar land Rover (JlR) in 2008. Mistry, on the other hand, was looking at tackling mounting debt by raising cash, refinancing loans and selling assets after writing them down.
Soon after sacking Mistry, the group removed link to his first and last interview to the Tata website where he had his 2025 vision to make the firm among the 25 most admired corporates and employers globally. Tata Sons has already announced that a Selection Committee has been constituted to choose a new Chairman, and will complete its mandate in four months.
The panel comprises of Tata, TVS Group head Venu Srinivasan, Amit Chandra of Bain Capital, former diplomat Ronen Sen and lord Kumar Bhattacharya. All of them, except Bhattacharya, are on the board of Tata Sons.