Tata Sons' new chairman to focus on shareholder returns, capital allocation

Tata Sons, the holding company of the $100-billion Tata group, will focus on boosting shareholder returns and tightening capital allocation rules, newly-appointed chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said in a statement on Tuesday.

Chandrasekaran, widely known as Chandra, took over as chairman on Tuesday, months after the firm ousted predecessor Cyrus Mistry in a bitter boardroom coup with family patriach Ratan Tata returning to the helm temporarily.

A public spat between Tata Sons and Mistry followed his removal in October and the two are now involved in a legal tussle.

In a statement, Chandra said he plans to bring the group closer together to leverage its collective strength and "bring greater rigour to our capital allocation policies and deliver superior returns to our shareholders."

Chandra, the former chief executive of IT outsourcing giant Tata Consultancy Services, takes the helm at a time when several companies in the conglomerate have seen profits come under pressure.