Natarajan Chandrasekaran (‘Chandra’) is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT solution and consulting firm, and a member of its Board of Directors. He was elevated to the role of Chief Executive in October 2009 after serving as the Chief Operating Officer since 2007.

 

With revenues of $15.5 billion in 2014-15, TCS is among the fastest growing IT services companies globally with a compounded annual growth rate of 26 per cent over the last three years. The market capitalization of the company crossed USD 80 billion during 2014-15, making TCS the most valuable company in India. With over 319,000 consultants, TCS has become the largest private sector employers in India with the highest retention rate in a globally competitive industry.

A tireless traveler who is always willing to meet customers, Chandra personifies TCS’ commitment to its culture of customer centricity, its reputation for high service quality as well as its tradition of innovation. A technopreneur known for his ability to make big bets on new technology, Chandra has been driving several innovative initiatives at TCS, some of which have since scaled into sizeable new businesses.

Chandra has been appointed as the Chairperson of the IT Industry at the World Economic Forum, Davos for 2015-16. He is also a member of Indo – US CEO Forum. Chandra has been playing an active role in helping the Indian government expand trade and enhance business relationships with several countries. He is part of the bilateral business taskforces for Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan and Malaysia. He is also a Member of the Honorary Committee of European Business Summit. Chandra served as the chairman of NASSCOM, the apex trade body for IT services firms in India in 2012-13 and continues to be a member of its governing Executive Council.

Under his guidance, the company has refined its corporate sustainability program to focus on education, environment and wellness. The firm has created healthcare solutions for charitable hospitals to help them to improve the level of patient care more effectively and use their resources to treat more patients who cannot afford healthcare. Through his active support of major marathons in Boston, Berlin, New York, Chicago, Amsterdam, Mumbai and Bangalore, he has helped spread a message of health awareness across the firm’s employees globally as well as in the communities it operates in.

 

Chandra has received several awards and recognition in the business community in 2014-15. He was voted as one of CNBC TV 18 - ‘Indian Business Icons'. He was recently awarded CNN- IBN Indian of the Year 2014 in business category. Chandra was presented with the “Best CEO for 2014” by Business Today for the second consecutive year. He was voted the ‘Best CEO’ by the Institutional Investor’s 2014 Annual All-Asia Executive Team rankings.

Chandra was conferred with the honorary doctorate by JNTU, Hyderabad, India (2014).  He has received Honorary Doctorate from Nyenrode Business Universiteit, Netherland's top private business school (2013). Chandra has also been conferred honorary degrees by many Indian universities such as the Gitam University, Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. (2013)  KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha (2012); and the SRM University (2010), Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Chandra was awarded the ‘Management Man of the Year’ (2013) Award from the Bombay Management Association (BMA). He was named the ‘Best CEO’ in the Technology, IT Services and Software sector in the Institutional Investors’ 2013 Annual All-Asia Executive Team Rankings.  He has also been named one of STEMconnector’s ‘100 CEO Leaders in STEM.’

 

He was also awarded ‘Asia Business Leader of the year’ 2012 by CNBC Asia. He was adjudged the ‘Indian of the Year 2012 - Business Leader’ by NDTV and as the ‘Business Visionary of the Year’ by NDTV Profit.  Forbes India recognised him as their ‘CEO of the Year’ in 2012. He has also received the Medal of the City of Amsterdam - Frans Banninck Coqc - in recognition of his endeavor to promote trade and economic relations between Amsterdam and India. 

Chandra has spent his career in TCS, joining the company in 1987 after completing Masters in Computer Applications from Regional Engineering College, Trichy, Tamil Nadu.

Beyond office, Chandra is an avid photographer, music aficionado and a passionate long-distance runner who has completed marathons in Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago Berlin, Mumbai, New York, Prague, Stockholm, Salzburg and Tokyo.

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