Aiming to find a successor to 72-year-old Chairman Ratan Tata by March 2011, Tata Group on
Friday named five members of a search panel that includes Tata Sons former vice chairman N A Soonawala.
The panel includes two other senior group directors R K Krishnakumar and Cyrus Mistry, and group adviser and lawyer Shirin Bharucha and influential British businessman Lord Bhattacharya. Soonawala stepped down as Tata Sons vice chairman just two months ago.
Tatas had announced on August 4 that a search panel would be set up to find the next leader for the USD 71 billion group, whose incumbent chairman would retire at the age of 75
in December 2012.
Barely days ahead of the announcement, 53-year-old Noel Tata, Ratan Tata's half-brother, was named head of Tata International, a trading arm of the group.
"The panel will look at suitable candidates from within the group and professionals from India and overseas to find a replacement for Ratan Tata, who retires at the end of 2012," a group statement said.