Tata Sons, the holding company of the Indian industrial conglomerate Tata Group, on Friday reappointed Natarajan Chandrasekaran as chairman for a second five-year term.  

The reappointment was backed by Ratan Tata, who is the chairman of Tata Trusts – which is the majority shareholder in Tata Sons. 

Tata Sons board met on Friday to review the last five years and consider the reappointment of its Executive Chairman N Chandrasekaran, it said in a statement.

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“Ratan. N. Tata who was a special invitee to this meeting expressed his satisfaction on the progress and performance of the Tata Group under the leadership of Chandrasekaran. He recommended his term be renewed for a further five-year period,” it said.

The Board commended the performance of the Executive Chairman and “unanimously approved the reappointment of Chandrasekaran as the Executive Chairman for the next five years.”

Chandrasekaran, 58, said, “It has been a privilege to lead the Tata Group for the last five years and I am delighted at the opportunity to lead the Tata Group for another five years, in its next phase.”

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Chandra, as he is usually referred to, took over the reins of Tata Sons in 2017 at a time when the group faced a leadership crisis and a trust deficit after the ouster of his predecessor, Cyrus Mistry, by the board. Until then, Chandra, a trusted lieutenant of the Tatas, had helmed TCS, the crown jewel and cash cow of the group.

A large part of Chandra’s tenure was spent fighting the legal battle with Mistry.

He joined the Tata Sons board in October 2016, was designated chairman in January 2017 and took official charge in February 2017. He also chairs the boards of operating companies such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power and TCS.

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In October last year, Tata Sons made a winning bid for Air India, bringing back an airline that the group had originally founded after nearly seven decades. The takeover was completed on January 27. 

The Tata group now has three airlines – Tata SIA Airlines, AirAsia India and Air India with a combined market share of over 25 per cent.