N Chandrasekaran’s decision not to seek a third term as chairman of Tata Sons is being viewed as a clash of personalities at the top of India’s most respected conglomerate. But it is less of that and more of a failure of a governance model that has outlived the man who made it work. With the passing of Ratan Tata, it was obvious that Chandrasekaran would have to face and respond to questions that had earlier been settled by an authority unique to the Tata group.

Some of the hard questions that were put to him post-transition ranged from clarity on a five-year strategy, the continued losses at Air India and the steps to contain them, restraint on high-risk investment, an exit route for the Shapoorji Pallonji group, and an assurance that Tata Sons would remain........

© Free Press Journal