Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran Receives France’s Highest Civilian Award

Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran was honoured with the prestigious “Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur” (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna on Wednesday.

Chandrasekaran was honoured for his substantial role in developing and fostering commercial links between France and India. The Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI), in collaboration with Business France, hosted the 5th edition of the Indo-French Business Awards (IFBA) and Grand Prix VIE, which witnessed the presence of esteemed guests, including H.E. Mr Édouard Philippe, former Prime Minister of France and Mayor of Le Havre, CNBC TV18 reported.

“Our Chairman N Chandrasekaran receives the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur from French Minister for Europe & Foreign Affairs @MinColonna. He was conferred the highest civilian award of France for his contributions to strengthening the trade relationship between India & France,” Tata Sons twitter handle posted along with pictures of the ceremony.

Similarly, after presenting the award, in a tweet Colonna said Tata group of companies “is a major player in the Franco-Indian partnership: I had the pleasure of presenting its CEO, on behalf of the President of the Republic, with the insignia of Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur. Dear Natarajan Chandrasekaran, you are a friend of France”.

Ambassador of France to India Emmanuel Lenain also in a post on Twitter said, “Dear Natarajan Chandrasekaran, you are a true friend of France”.

Earlier this year, Tata Group-owned Air India had inked a multi-billion dollar deal with Airbus to buy 250 aircraft from Airbus, which included 210 A320 neo planes and 40 A350 aircraft.

Last year in December, Tata Technologies inaugurated its innovation centre in Toulouse, France, to cater for the new-age product engineering and digital requirements of the global aerospace and defence sector.

The award ceremony, held at the Residence of France, brought together more than 150 CEOs and business leaders representing prominent Indo-French companies across diverse sectors such as aerospace and defence, mobility, energy, consumer goods, agro-industry, and luxury.

Natarajan Chandrasekaran, popularly known as Chandra in corporate circles, was appointed as the Chairman of Tata Sons in 2017. Last year, he received a five-year extension in his role.

Chandra began his journey with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in 1987 as a graduate trainee after graduating from Trichy’s Regional Engineering College. Over the course of his more than two-decade-long tenure at TCS, he steadily climbed the ranks and became the CEO in 2009.

Till 2017, Chandrasekaran served as the CEO and MD of TCS for eight years. During that time, the business generated total revenues of $16.5 billion in 2015–16, securing its position as the largest private sector employment and the most valuable corporation in India.

With approximately 25 French research and development centres, 15 joint Indo-French research institutes, and 500 collaborative projects in India, France has established itself as one of India’s most important scientific partners.