Outsider who changed Tata’s trajectory with bold bets beyond technology and steel

Natarajan Chandrasekaran’s decade-long legacy at the Tata group is likely to be defined by his ability to venture beyond the comfort zone of information technology into an empire that spans everything from salt to luxury cars — and by the bold bets in frontier industries whose promise has yet to match their cost.

Chandra who holds a master’s degree in computer applications and joined the Tata group in 1987, rose through the ranks at Tata Consultancy Services to become CEO in 2009.