Tata Trusts has appointed Siddharth Sharma as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trusts and Aparna Uppaluri as the Chief Operating Officer (COO). Their appointment will be in effect from 1st April 2023, according to ET Bureau report.
Sharma has been in government service for two decades where he handled important assignments in key ministries of the government, and as the financial advisor to the 13th and 14th Presidents of India. He subsequently joined the Tata group where he has been heading the newly formed sustainability portfolio.
Aparna Uppaluri has exposure in strategic planning and programme development in the fields of philanthropy, women’s rights, public health, arts, and culture, the statement said. With over twenty years of leadership and management experience, she has led the grant making initiatives at the Ford Foundation to advance programmatic commitment to strengthen gender justiceand has also served as program director to oversee different verticals at the Ford foundation.
The Tata Trusts board of trustees had been considering a few internal candidates for the post of CEO after Srinath Narasimhan, a Tata Group veteran, retired at 60. The names being discussed include Siddharth Sharma, Tata Sons group chief sustainability officer (CSO), and Sukaran Singh, CEO of Tata Advanced Systems, said top executives close to the development. The Tata Trusts hold 66% of Tata Sons, the group holding company.
Narasimhan was named the first CEO of the Tata Trusts in 2020, marking a shift to a more professional management style. Narasimhan was earlier managing director of Tata Teleservices Ltd and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra). Before that, Tata Trusts was handled by a managing trustee, along with 20 trustees.
In recent times, Ratan Tata, 84, has been keen to ensure that the Trusts pursue critical causes such as malnutrition, cancer treatment, sanitisation and education. Those being hired by the Trusts have the knowledge and experience to help scale up their reach in such key areas, insiders said. Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, is keen to ensure that the interests of both institutions, the Tata Trusts and Tata Sons, are protected.
About 66% of the equity capital of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts endowed by members of the Tata family.
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