Yahoo Finance Ex-Unilever COO Manwani in frame to take Tata's $100bn hotseat
A former Unilever (NYSE: UL - news) executive is in the frame to take on the chairmanship of Tata Group, the Indian conglomerate which owns Jaguar Land Rover and the Port Talbot steel plant in south Wales.
Sky News can reveal that Harish Manwani, the former chief operating officer of the Dove-to-Marmite consumer goods giant, is being lined up as a possible successor to Cyrus Mistry, who was ousted last month after a bitter row over his stewardship of India's best-known company.
The emergence of a potential new chairman so soon after Mr Mistry's exit - which sent shockwaves through the Indian corporate establishment - could ease concerns about the management of the group, which also has major interests in power, chemicals and consumer goods.
It was unclear on Thursday how many other candidates were also under consideration by Tata, with any appointment likely to be weeks from an announcement.
Members of the committee established to identified Mr Mistry's successor include Lord Bhattacharyya, the British-based industrialist.
Mr Manwani is the chairman of Hindustan Unilever (BSE: HINDUNILVR.BO - news) , the Anglo-Dutch group's Indian subsidiary, a role he took on after stepping down as COO of the FTSE-100 company in 2014.
He is also a director of Pearson (Xetra: 858266 - news) , the British-based education group and publisher, Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR - news) , the white goods manufacturer, and an advisor to Blackstone (NYSE: BX - news) , the global private equity investor.
Mr Mistry's defenestration after four years at the helm of Tata Group, which has annual sales of more than $100bn, has sparked fresh uncertainty about the future of Tata Steel (BSE: TATASTEEL.BO - news) 's UK operations.
After months of tentative talks with possible buyers for the British business, which employs roughly 11,000 people, Tata announced in June that it was entering discussions with the German steel producer Thyssen-Krupp about a joint venture.
Tata Steel UK's pension scheme, which has been the subject of a Government consultation over future increases to benefits, remains an obstacle to a deal.
The Indian group was run by Ratan Tata, its patriarchal boss, for decades, before he handed over the reins to Mr Mistry.
Mr Tata, who orchestrated Tata Motors (BSE: TATAMOTORS.BO - news) ' takeover of Jaguar Land Rover in 2008, has now returned as the interim chairman and has been the target of a sustained broadside by his deposed successor.
In a series of widely publicised attacks, Mr Mistry has accused Mr Tata of being driven by his ego, particularly in relation to Tata's $12bn takeover of the British steelmaker Corus in 2007.
The ousted boss said that five of Tata's biggest businesses faced asset writedowns valued at $18bn - an assertion contradicted by its board.
In response, Mr Mistry has been accused of undermining Tata Group's governance structure and presiding over a period of poor performance across many of its flagship operations.
The Indian group has been seeking to force Mr Mistry to step down from the boards of a number of its subsidiaries, including the beverages unit which owns Tetley Tea.
Tata could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
