The chair of India's Tata Sons - the principal investment holding company of the $400-billion Tata Group - is looking at stepping down due to tensions with its largest shareholder, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.Tata Trusts, the group's charitable arm, owns about 66% of Tata Sons which controls more than 30 group companies, including Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors and Air India.The two sides have clashed over board representation, strategy and the planned exit of minority shareholder Shapoorji Pallonji, a dispute that led to the ouster of a Tata Sons director.While Chairman N. Chandrasekaran is considering stepping down, no decision has been made, said the source who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.The Economic Times reported on Wednesday that Chandrasekaran had discussed with close associates the possibility of stepping down ahead of an August 18 annual general meeting where Tata Sons shareholders are set to vote on his reappointment.Tata Sons did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Chandrasekaran could not be reached for comment.Tata Sons in February postponed a decision on reappointing Chandrasekaran as chairman after Noel Tata, chairman of the group's charity arm Tata Trusts, opposed the move, Reuters has previously reported.Chandrasekaran joined the Tata group in 1987, became TCS' CEO in 2009 before taking over as Tata Sons chair in 2017.
