Tata Sons chief N Chandrasekaran appointed chairman of Air India

Written by Shivani Kumar | Edited by Sohini Goswami

Tata Sons chief Natarajan Chandrasekaran was appointed as chairman of Air India on Monday. The development came days after Ilker Ayci, former chairman of Turkish Airlines, turned down the Tata Group’s offer to be the chief executive officer and managing director of Air India.The home-grown airline was bought back by the Tatas in a $2.4 billion equity and debt deal in October last year following 69 years of state ownership.Ayci, who oversaw extensive cost-cutting at Turkish Airlines, was chosen as the debt-ridden carrier’s first CEO in mid-February. However, on March 1, he declined the offer. The reason for the same was not revealed. According to some reports, his proximity to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had led to a controversy in India once his appointment was announced.Before heading Tata Sons, Chandrasekaran was chairman of Tata Consultancy Services. He was the third non-Tata, after Nowroji Saklatwala and Cyrus Mistry, to hold the position.The 58-year-old Tata veteran had started his career as a software programmer in 1987. He rose through the ranks to take the top job when he was just 46 and became one of the youngest CEOs in the Tata group. In 2016, he joined the board of Tata Sons and took over as chairman in 2017.The Tata group operates four separate airlines in India and has been looking to impose wholesome change at the top of Air India as it seeks to revive the ailing carrier. According to a PTI report, Chandrasekaran’s appointment as the chairman of the airline was cleared by its board last week.

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