Tata Sons Chief N Chandrasekaran Appointed Chairman Of Air India

N Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons has been officially appointed as the chairman of Air India, the beleaguered airline entity acquired by Tata group from the government.

Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group had won the bid to take over debt-laden state-run Air India by offering ?18,000 crore for it.

The appointment of a new CEO of the formerly state-owned airline is also expected to be finalised soon, according to reports.

Recent controversy

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Air India had announced earlier this month that former Turkish Airlines boss Ilker Ayci will not take its helm, despite being named the airline's CEO last month.

Ayci ¨C who oversaw extensive cost-cutting at Turkish Airlines ¨C was chosen as the debt-ridden carrier's first foreign CEO in mid-February after Tata group bought it back from the government following 69 years in state ownership.

He is considered to be close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an ally of Pakistan, which led to controversy once his appointment was announced.

About Chandrasekaran

Chandrasekaran was reappointed as Tata Sons' executive chairman for another five years in February.

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Chandrasekaran is the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company and promoter of more than 100 Tata operating companies. He joined the Board of Tata Sons in October 2016 and was appointed Chairman in January 2017.

He also chairs the Boards of several group operating companies, including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) ¨C of which he was Chief Executive Officer from 2009-17.

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His appointment as Chairman followed a 30-year business career at TCS, which he joined from university. He rose through the ranks at TCS to become CEO and Managing Director of the leading global IT solution and consulting firm.

Chandrasekaran became the first non-Parsi and professional executive to head the Tata Group.