Leadership shuffle: Tata Sons ropes in consumer veterans to Tata Digital board; balances earlier finance-centric line-up

Tata Sons has inducted Indian Hotels CEO Puneet Chhatwal and Tata Consumer CEO Sunil D’Souza into the board of Tata Digital, a strategic move aimed at bolstering consumer business expertise across the conglomerate’s digital ventures. The reshuffle follows the departure of Tata Digital MD and CEO Naveen Tahilyani in May, after just over a year at the helm.The appointments come at a time when Tata Digital, operator of the Tata Neu super app, is in transition. The company will now be managed by its board until a new CEO is named. According to people familiar with the matter, the appointment has been delayed due to the ongoing crisis following the recent Air India crash, with group chairman N Chandrasekaran said to be personally monitoring developments at both Tata Digital and Air India, reported ET.Chhatwal and D’Souza’s inclusion is seen as an effort to address concerns that Tata Digital's board was previously skewed toward finance professionals and lacked leadership with strong consumer business backgrounds. “Both have been extremely successful at building their respective consumer businesses,” said an executive cited by ET. “Their capabilities at juggling multiple business structures and shareholders will help Tata Digital strengthen its consumer impact.”The group has also named Ankur Verma as the acting chairman of Croma, its consumer electronics chain. Meanwhile, Aarthi Subramanian exited the Tata Digital board after her elevation as COO of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).Tata Digital oversees a diverse portfolio, including BigBasket, epharmacy 1mg, fashion marketplace Tata Cliq, and Croma. Despite reporting a gross merchandise value (GMV) of Rs 37,355 crore in FY24 and a user base of 140 million, cross-platform adoption remains a concern. As per ET, Tata Neu contributed less than 10% to the gross sales of BigBasket and 1mg, reflecting weak synergy and integration.Backend integration efforts were reportedly paused to preserve brand identity and user experience, and each vertical continues to operate independently. “They don’t really urgently need a Tata Digital CEO,” a source was quoted by ET as saying, adding that vertical heads manage their units autonomously.Tata Digital had originally envisioned a centralised super app approach but later pivoted to a shared services model after lukewarm consumer response. As per ET, Chandrasekaran is understood to have grown impatient with Neu’s sluggish performance, prompting a shift in focus.To reinvigorate the platform, the company has launched a quick commerce pilot named ‘Flash’ on the Tata Neu app, targeting India’s booming 10-minute delivery space dominated by Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart.Tata Digital’s leadership journey has largely been internal, with former TCS executive Pratik Pal setting the foundation in 2019, and Tahilyani appointed to lead the next phase in 2023. Myntra cofounder Mukesh Bansal remains one of the few high-profile external hires to date.