Ratan N Tata
(Chairman)

Ratan N Tata has been the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, since 1991. He is also the Chairman of the major Tata companies including Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Power, Tata Tea, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels and Tata Teleservices. During his tenure, the Group’s revenues have grown over 13-fold to annualized Group revenues of over $80 bn.

Ratan Tata joined the Tata Group in December 1962. After serving in various companies, he was appointed the Director-in-Charge of The National Radio & Electronics Company Limited (NELCO) in 1971. In 1981, he was named Chairman of Tata Industries, the Group’s other holding company, where he was responsible for transforming it into a Group strategy think-tank, and a promoter of new ventures in high technology businesses. He is also the Chairman of two of the largest private sector promoted philanthropic trusts in India.

Ratan Tata is associated with various organizations in India and abroad. He is the Chairman of the Government of India’s Investment Commission and a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry, the National Hydrogen Energy Board and the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council. He also serves on the UK Prime Minister’s Business Council for Britain and the International Advisory Council of Singapore’s Economic Development Board. He is also on the international advisory boards of the Mitsubishi Corporation, the American International Group, JP Morgan Chase and Rolls Royce. He also serves on the board of directors of Fiat SpA and Alcoa.

Ratan Tata is President of the Court of the Indian Institute of Science and Chairman of the Council of Management of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Cornell University and the University of Southern California. He is also a member of the Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS and the Program Board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India AIDS Initiative.

Ratan Tata received a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture with Structural Engineering from Cornell University in 1962. He worked briefly with Jones and Emmons in Los Angeles, before returning to India in late 1962. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1975.

The Government of India honored Ratan Tata with its second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, last year. He has also been conferred an honorary doctorate in Business Administration by the Ohio State University, an honorary doctorate in Technology by the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, an honorary doctorate in Science by the University of Warwick and the Indian Institutes of Technology of Kharagpur and Madras, and an honorary fellowship by the London School of Economics.

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S Ramadorai
(Vice Chairman)

S Ramadorai, Vice Chairman of Tata Consultancy Services Limited, has been associated with the company for the past thirty seven years. Joining as a trainee engineer, Ramadorai took over as CEO in 1996 and has been instrumental in building TCS to a $6 billion global software and services company.

Ramadorai is also represented on the Board of a number of companies and educational institutes - Tata Industries, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Piramal Healthcare Limited and the MIT Executive Board (EMSAB) to name a few.

In recognition of Ramadorai’s commitment and dedication to the IT industry he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in January 06. In April 2009 he was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the Indo-British economic relations.

His academic credentials include a Bachelors degree in Physics from Delhi University (India), a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Telecommunications from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (India) and a Masters degree in Computer Science from the University of California – UCLA (USA). In 1993, Ramadorai attended the Sloan School of Management’s highly acclaimed Senior Executive Development Program.

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Laura M Cha
(Director)

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Clayton M Christensen
(Director)

Clayton M Christensen is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, with a joint appointment in the Technology & Operations Management and General Management faculty groups. His research and teaching interests center on managing innovation and creating new growth markets.

Professor Christensen holds a B.A. with highest honors in economics from Brigham Young University (1975), and an M.Phil. in applied econometrics and the economics of less-developed countries from Oxford University (1977), where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He received an MBA with High Distinction from the Harvard Business School in 1979, graduating as a George F. Baker Scholar. He was awarded his DBA from the Harvard Business School in 1992.

A seasoned entrepreneur, Christensen has founded three successful companies. The first, CPS Corporation, is an advanced materials manufacturing company that he founded in 1984 with several MIT professors. The second, Innosight, is a consulting and training company focused on problems of strategy, innovation, and growth that Christensen founded with several of his former students in 2000. Innosight Capital, the third firm, was launched in 2005. From 1979 to 1984 he worked with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In 1982 Professor Christensen was named a White House Fellow, and served as assistant to U.S. Transportation Secretaries Drew Lewis and Elizabeth Dole.

Professor Christensen became a faculty member at the Harvard Business School in 1992. He is author or co-author of five books: The Innovator's Dilemma (1997), which received the Global Business Book Award for the best business book published in 1997; The Innovator's Solution (2003), also a New York Times best seller; and Seeing What's Next (2004). In addition, he has edited two case books on innovation: Innovation and the General Manager (1999) and Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation, 4th edition (2004). He presently is completing two books that examine the problems of our healthcare and public education systems through the lenses of his theories. These also will show how the problems in these industries can be resolved.

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Aman Mehta
(Director)

Aman Mehta was born in New Delhi in 1946. After graduating from Delhi University with an economics degree in 1967, he joined the Bombay office of Mercantile Bank Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.

Following training in the Bank's London office, Mehta returned to the Group's operations in India. Since 1969, he has held a number of assignments throughout the Bank, including appointments in Operations, Credit, Branch and Area Management and Merchant Banking. In 1985, he was appointed Manager Corporate Planning at The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation's headquarters in Hong Kong. In January 1988, he moved to Riyadh to take up the post of Managing Director of The Saudi British Bank, a 40 percent owned associate of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

In May 1991, Mehta was appointed Group General Manager and, following a brief strategic planning assignment in North America, he was appointed General Manager International in February 1992 with responsibility for overseas subsidiaries.

In January 1993, Mehta took up the appointment of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HSBA USA Inc., the New York-based arm of HSBC Holdings plc set up to exercise oversight of Group companies in the Americas, before being appointed in November 1995 as Deputy Chairman of HSBC Bank Middle East, based in Dubai with responsibility for the Group's operations in the Middle East region.

Mehta was re-appointed General Manager International of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in February 1998, Executive Director International in May 1998 and Chief Executive Officer in January 1999. Mehta also became Chairman of HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad on 1 January, 1999, and a Director of HSBC Bank Australia Limited.

Mehta retired from HSBC wef 31 December, 2003 and has returned to live in New Delhi on permanent resettlement, with a second home in New York. He is an independent non-executive director of several public companies in India as well as overseas. These include:

• PCCW Limited, Hong Kong
• Raffles Holdings Limited, Singapore
• Wockhardt Limited, Mumbai
• Tata Consultancy Services Limited, Mumbai
• Jet Airways (India) Limited, Mumbai
• Vedanta Resources plc, London
• Max Healthcare Institute Limited, New Delhi
• Godrej Consumer Products Limited, Mumbai
• Cairn India Limited

In addition, Mehta is a member of the Governing Board of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad and of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi. He is also a Member of the Advisory Council of INSEAD, France. Mr. Mehta is married and has two children.

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Dr. Ron Sommer
(Director)

Venkatraman Thyagarajan
(Director)

Venkatraman Thyagarajan (Thyagi) is responsible for GlaxoSmithKline operations in Asia Pacific and is based at the Company's Headquarters in Singapore. Prior to his current position, Thyagarajan served as Vice President of South Asia since 2001. He has served on the Board of Glaxo India since 1992 and began his tenure as Managing Director in 1994. He is now the Vice Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline India.

A true veteran of GlaxoSmithKline, Thyagarajan has been with the company for over 34 years. He began his career as a Management Trainee for Glaxo India in September 1970. Thyagarajan has held various increasingly senior positions throughout his career, including Marketing Consultant for Europe, Area Marketing Director for Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe as well as the Area Director for South East Asia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan. Thyagarajan received a B. Tech (Elec) and M.B.A from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. Mr Thyagarajan is married to Anuradha and they have two daughters. He is a keen tennis player and music enthusiast.

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Dr. Vijay Kelkar
(Director)

A Ph.D. in development economics from the University of California at Berkeley, he joined the senior faculty of the Administrative Staff College of India in Hyderabad. After a brief stint as a teacher in Nepal, Dr. Kelkar joined the Planning Commission in 1973. From the Planning Commission, Dr. Kelkar joined the Commerce Ministry in 1977 as economic adviser, and has since then served in various posts including secretary to the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister between 1985 and 1988. In 1994 he came back to the government as petroleum secretary. He was made finance secretary in 1998. He was an executive director in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), overseeing its operations in South Asia during 2000-2002. 

Dr. Kelkar’s experience is wide and varied.

In the Government of India, Dr. Kelkar has just retired as Chairman, Finance Commission, in the rank of a Union Cabinet Minister.  He was in this position since January 2008.  He has held several other key posts, among them, Advisor to Minister of Finance, Government of India in the rank of a Minister of State, from August, 2002 to September, 2004; Finance Secretary, Government of India, 1998-1999; Chairman, Tariff Commission, Government of India, 1997-1998;  Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, 1994-1997.

Internationally, Dr. Kelkar was Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan from 1999-2002; and Director & Coordinator, International Trade Division of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Geneva, Switzerland, 1991-1994.

In other functions with the Government of India, Dr. Kelkar sat as Chairman, Task Force for Implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budgement Act, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, 2004; Chairman, Task Force on Direct Taxes, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, 2002; and Chairman, Task Force on Indirect Taxes, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, 2002.

Dr. Vijay Kelkar has been elected Chairman of the board of the Forum of Federations w.e.f. January 1, 2010. 

He is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees of India Development Foundation (IDF). IDF conducts research on various issues of the economy, seeking to address the issue of selling reforms to a larger constituency.

He has also held important positions in the private sector, such as Chairman, Advisory Council, Citi Group, 2005- 2007; Member, Board of Directors, Tata Chemicals Ltd, Mumbai, 2004- 2007; and Member, Board of Directors, Jet Airways, Mumbai, 2004-2007.

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Ishaat Hussain
(Director)

Ishaat Hussain joined the Board of Tata Sons as an Executive Director on 1.7.99, and is Finance Director of Tata Sons Ltd. with effect from 28.7.2000. Prior to joining Tata Sons he was the Senior Vice President and Executive Director – Finance in Tata Steel for almost 10 years.

Born on September 2, 1947, Hussain completed his schooling from The Doon School in 1963 to join St. Stephens College Delhi to do his graduation in Economics. A Chartered Accountant from England and Wales, Ishaat Hussain attended the Advanced Management Programme at the Harvard Business School. He joined the Board of The Indian Tube Company (a Tata Steel associate company) in 1981. Thereafter, he moved to Tata Steel in 1983 after Indian Tube was merged with Tata Steel.

Besides being on Board of Tata Sons Limited, he is the Chairman of Voltas Limited and Tata Sky Limited. He is also on the Boards of several Tata Companies viz. Tata Steel, Tata Industries, Tata Teleservices, Titan Industries Limited. 

In April 2005, Ishaat Hussain was appointed a member of the Board of Trade, and in November 2006, he was appointed a Public Interest Director of Bombay Stock Exchange Limited. In January 2008, he was appointed a Trustee on the Board of India Foundation for the Arts (IFA).

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N Chandrasekaran
(Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director)

Natarajan Chandrasekaran (“Chandra”) is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of the company.

Responsible for formulating and executing the company's global strategy, Chandra has been at helm of several key strategic transitions at TCS since 2002 when he took over the role as head of global sales. In his previous role as Chief Operating Officer, he was the architect of the new organization structure unveiled in 2008 which created multiple agile business units focused on domains and markets as well as built strategic business units in order to pursue new initiatives with the ability to invest, develop and mature new ideas.

Under his leadership, TCS has pioneered the creation of its unique Global Network Delivery Model (GNDM™) across five continents and ventured into new markets including Europe, China and Latin America. It added new business lines like BPO, Infrastructure and Assurance services.  Chandra has also driven the domain diversification drive which has seen the company enter new verticals like Media and Information Services as well as Hi-tech. All of these have matured into sizeable businesses under his mentorship and guidance.

Chandra personifies TCS’ commitment to customer satisfaction and high quality of deliverables. Through his experience in a variety of operating roles across TCS, he has built a reputation in the IT services industry for his exceptional ability to build and grow new businesses and nurture long-term relationships. He has also been a champion of software and business quality for the industry.

Chandra represents TCS on several global and local forums. He is a member of Executive Council, National Association of Software & Service Companies (Nasscom) and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He is on the board of Tata Business Support Services, as well as many TCS subsidiaries.

Chandra joined TCSL in 1987 after completing his Masters in Computer Applications from Regional Engineering College, Trichy, Tamil Nadu in 1986. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Science from the Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu.

Beyond the office, Chandra is a passionate long-distance runner and has completed marathons in Mumbai, New York, Prague, Stockholm and Vienna.

Born in 1963, Chandra lives in Mumbai, with his wife Lalitha and son Pranav.

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S Mahalingam
(Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director )

Seturaman Mahalingam or “Maha”, as he is better known, started his professional career with Tata Consultancy Services in 1970. In his 40-year career with TCS, Maha has been involved in myriad aspects of the Company’s operations and growth, before being appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company in February 2003 and as Executive Director in August 2007.

A chartered accountant by qualification, Maha began his career as an IT consultant and thereafter played a major role in marketing TCS services across the globe, developing processes and creating large software development centers for the Company.

As an early starter in the Indian IT industry, Maha has played a key role in helping TCS become a $ 6 billion global company with over 140,000 employees.

Prior to becoming the Chief Financial Officer in February 2003, Maha has managed many of the key functions in TCS including Marketing, Operations, Education and Training as well as Human Resources. He managed the company’s operations in London and New York in the early days of TCS’ global journey.

Maha’s experience, during the formative years of the IT industry in the 1970s and 1980s, has given him significant standing within the IT industry. He is a former chairman of the Southern Region of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India’s apex industry body as well as a fellow of the Computer Society of India. He was also the President of the Institute of Management Consultants of India. He is a board member of several subsidiaries of TCS.

Maha was conferred the ‘CFO of the Year’ award 2006 announced by International Market Assessment (IMA). Maha was also the winner of CNBC TV18’s Best Performing CFO Award in the Technology Sector for 2007.

Born in February 1948, Maha is married with two children and lives in Mumbai.

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Phiroz A Vandrevala
(Executive Director and Head, Global Corporate Affairs)