TCS calls up group veterans to lead the voyage into AI

Tata Sons has reinstated Aarthi Subramanian, a trusted adviser to group chairman N Chandrasekaran, into an executive leadership role at Tata Consultancy Services as the IT services company navigates a significant shift towards artificial intelligence.

Subramanian returns as president and chief operating officer, stepping away from her responsibilities at other Tata Group entities, to lead a critical technology transformation at TCS - long regarded as the crown jewel of the group, contributing significantly to Tata Sons' profit.

The IT giant has also created a new position of chief strategy officer appointing Mangesh Sathe, who currently is the chief executive of Tata Strategic Management Group. Sathe, who had previously worked as a principal with the Boston Consulting Group, will also head the Global Consulting Practice and oversee the M&A functions at TCS once he joins in May.

TCS, grappling with slowing revenue growth, is now refocusing on its consulting division, which was established a decade ago but had lost momentum after a major restructuring led to the departure of several senior executives last year. Tata Sons views consulting as key to regaining competitive edge and is betting on Subramanian's experience to revitalise this unit.

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Tata Sons did not comment.

Experts believe TCS has underleveraged its consulting capabilities in recent years. Consulting is seen as essential for growth in the tech outsourcing space, especially as the broader business environment remains challenging.

Subramanian, who previously held leadership roles in delivery excellence and compliance at TCS, is also a member of the Tata Sons management committee and serves on the boards of Tata Capital, Tata AIA Life Insurance, Tata Digital, and Tata Electronics.

According to an industry executive, consulting is critical for shaping and influencing deals, whereas outsourcing merely enables participation in them. "In today's AI-disrupted market, where pricing power is limited, larger players need strong consulting arms to stay ahead. Firms like Accenture, Cognizant, Wipro and the Big Four are all strengthening their consulting muscle. TCS must do the same if it hopes to remain competitive," the executive said.

Yugal Joshi, partner at US-based technology advisory firm Everest Group, commented on the organisational shift: "TCS has crossed $30 billion in revenue and now requires better internal and external orchestration. Historically, it lacked a chief strategy officer, with innovation being owned by ISUs (industry solution units), practices and service lines. Now, the company needs leadership that can see the big picture, drive cross-organisational initiatives, and serve as the CEO's strategic right hand."

He added that while TCS has long believed in delivery-led growth, the increasing complexity of its structure-evidenced by multiple recent reorganisations-makes it imperative for the COO's office to streamline administrative functions and optimise profitability. The new COO role, vacant since N Ganapathy Subramaniam's departure nearly a year ago, will need to ensure alignment between innovation, market needs and financial performance.

TCS had once established a separate consulting division, but over time lost focus. Under its current strategy, consulting is being embedded within service lines and industry verticals instead of functioning as a standalone unit. This differs from peer organisations, but some argue the embedded approach allows for deeper, industry-specific insights. However, centralised consulting units are often better at articulating broad technology visions and mobilising company-wide resources for client benefit.

"Both (Subramanian and Sathe) are well known industry veterans and bring immense expertise on helping businesses adopt new technology and consulting," TCS chief executive K Krithivasan said on the appointment.

In a post-earnings conference call, Krithivasan said: "As part of our strategy review, we identified key areas needing deeper focus-especially in emerging technologies where talent acquisition and capability building are critical. We recognised that leadership bandwidth needed strengthening, and Aarthi, with her previous TCS experience and broader Tata Group exposure, was the ideal choice to help drive this transformation.”

"Aarthi was with TCS before, she knows TCS quite well. She's been part of the TCS board. Also at same time, being part has achieved Digital Officer of Tata group she has the extensive experience in how the businesses run and how businesses adopt technology, so we thought it would be most appropriate for us to have someone like her as a COO, and the Tata Group has been kind enough to let us have her with us,” he said.