The complexity of the role has risen in recent years as the “collective losses of the new businesses are more than the cashflow generated by older companies like TCS, the group’s software arm whose business model has been challenged by AI”, Nirmalya Kumar, who previously headed strategy at Tata Sons, told the BBC.

TCS has been the group’s cash cow, contributing to some 85% of cash flows, but is no longer the pillar of support it once was.

According to Dalal, even though losses at privately held companies have mounted, the performance of publicly traded, CEO-run Tata companies has been strong.

The group has a good bench strength of internal candidates who could throw their hats in the ring. Yet, finding a candidate who’s a straight “plug and play fit” will be difficult, she says.

“I think any person who comes in will have a set of skills and experience, but must be also groomed for the role.”

Kumar, on the other hand, isn’t convinced the internal names doing the rounds will fit the bill.

“The people internally are good executors of existing business models. Companies like Tata Steel and Tata Motors are almost running on auto-pilot with a CEO in charge. The new chairman will have to understand new business models of the four unlisted businesses that are losing money,” he said.

For investors, the resignation is likely to usher in a period of prolonged uncertainty.

New leadership will bring a change in strategic direction at the group in terms of how a new chairman approaches the ambitious expansion Chandrasekharan undertook, say experts.

“Some of the bleeding businesses will need a strategic plan to be made profitable. [The new person] will need to decide whether to scale back or exit some investments,” says Dalal.

Kumar says they will also need to communicate a clear plan to the market on how much further investment is needed and when a break-even is expected on these ambitious bets.

But most importantly, he adds, the focus will have to be on “driving alignment between the Trusts [the dominant shareholder] and Tata Sons”.

The group’s most successful run was under JRD Tata and Ratan Tata, when the relationship between the biggest shareholder and the operating company was frictionless as they were at the helm of both entities.

It broke down under Cyrus Mistry when there was a separation of the roles. Chandrasekharan’s exit is the second instance where the chairman has resigned because of the rocky relationship with the Trusts.

The fact that the principal shareholder was not aligned on business strategy was perhaps a fundamental problem in the relationship breaking down, Mukund Rajan, former brand custodian at Tata Sons, told, external India Today news channel.

“You cannot have companies being run where the majority shareholder is either feeling ignored or not aligned with the way the company will be run going forward,” Rajan said.

Repairing this relationship will have to be a key priority for whoever is next in the driving seat.