Tata Digital, the ecommerce arm of Tata Sons, has named Sajith Sivanandan as its new chief executive officer and managing director. He will take charge from September 1, 2025, according to an internal email sent to employees.
His appointment comes after the exit of Naveen Tahilyani, who stepped down in May this year. The leadership gap had been temporarily managed through a council of senior executives reporting directly to the Board.
Management Council Filled Interim Void
To ensure continuity, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran had set up a management council of six senior leaders, including Hardeep Guru (CFO), Gaurav Hazrati (CBO – Financial Services), Satyam Mehra (CSO), Seshadri Narasimhan (CBO), Abhimanyu Lal (CMO) and Vinay Vaidya (CTO). The council reported to the Board on a weekly basis until a permanent CEO was appointed.
A Tough Mandate Ahead
Sivanandan steps into a challenging role. He will need to sharpen Tata Digital’s strategy to compete not only with ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart, but also with quick commerce players such as Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart. Another key task will be boosting employee morale after months without a clear leader.
An Experienced Hand in Tech and Media
Sivanandan was most recently president at Jio Mobile Digital Services. Before that, he served as CEO of Disney+ Hotstar and as managing director and business head for Google Pay and the Next Billion User initiative in the Asia-Pacific region. With over 30 years of experience across technology, media, telecom, payments and consulting, he brings a broad portfolio of leadership expertise.
