When Three Powerful CEOs Decide It’s Time To Go

The month of August witnessed a major shake-up in Corporate India, with three powerful CEOs—all TamBrahmins—calling it a day. All three are highly regarded professional managers whose departures were either unexpected or surrounded by questions.It started on the morning of August 11 with Sudhir Sitapati, MD & CEO of Godrej Consumer Products, abruptly resigning. He had joined Godrej in 2021 after a long stint with Hindustan Unilever. The board had recently reappointed Sitapati for another five-year term, making his sudden exit a mystery. Surely, it cannot be on the grounds of leadership or the company’s financial performance, given the board’s approval for an extension. Clearly, there are other issues beyond business, leaving ample room for speculation. Then, in the afternoon of the same day, news broke that N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of the Tata Group, informed the Tata Sons board in a letter that he would not seek an extension after February 2027. On April 7, Short Post ran a story titled “Will Tata Group Chairman Chandrasekaran Agree To A 2-Year Extension Post-2027?”—a prediction that has now been proven right. As reported, the relationship between Chandrasekaran and Noel Tata had grown strained. More significantly, Chandrasekaran disclosed in his letter that his proposed extension did not receive the support of one Tata Sons board member (read Noel Tata). The third to join the August exit list—and perhaps the most expected—was Sashidhar Jagdishan, MD & CEO of HDFC Bank. He announced that he will not seek reappointment when his current term expires on October 26 this year. His second term has been fraught with challenges. Former chairman Atanu Chakraborty abruptly resigned on March 18, 2026, stating that certain developments and practices at the bank were not aligned with his “personal values and ethics.” Following this, a special disciplinary committee examined HDFC Bank’s arrangements for MSRDC deposits, along with the Lilavati case involving the CEO. The final straw was a class-action lawsuit filed in the U.S. relating to alleged payments connected with MSRDC deposits. The departures of these three CEOs tell very different stories about power, promoters, and corporate governance in India.