Tata Digital names ex-Google leader Sajith Sivanandan as CEO

Tata Digital has named Sajith Sivanandan, a former Google executive and more recently head of Jio Mobile Digital Services, as its new chief executive officer, effective 1 September 2025, according to an internal company email reported by Business Standard. 

The appointment, first disclosed by The Economic Times, follows weeks of leadership instability at Tata Digital. Sivanandan succeeds Naveen Tahilyani, who resigned in May 2025 after approximately 15 months as CEO, marking the third leadership change at the Tata Group’s digital arm in under two years. 

Amid the vacuum, operations were overseen by a six-member “Management Council” reporting directly to Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran, as detailed by Business Standard. 

Sivanandan’s appointment comes amid an urgent bid to stabilise and sharpen Tata Digital’s strategy in an intensely competitive e-commerce landscape. He brings nearly three decades of cross-sector leadership, including at Google, Disney+ Hotstar and Jio.

At Google, he spent over 15 years heading Google Pay and the Next Billion Users initiatives across India and the Asia-Pacific region. In early 2025, he took charge as president of Jio Mobile Digital Services, focusing on AI-driven digital offerings. Before that, he served as CEO of Disney+ Hotstar for more than two years, overseeing content, product, engineering and monetisation. 

Tata Digital operates the super-app Tata Neu, integrating brands such as BigBasket (groceries), Tata 1mg (pharmacy/healthcare), Tata Cliq (fashion/electronics) and Croma.

Despite a US$2 billion investment over the past three years, Tata Neu has struggled to deliver on its promise, lagging behind quicker-commerce players like Blinkit and Zepto, as well as e-commerce giants Amazon, Flipkart and Reliance Retail. 

The company also maintains a sizeable net loss; in FY25, its net deficit narrowed to ₹828 crore even as revenue growth slowed. Within the portfolio, Tata 1mg recorded a 20 percent revenue increase, while Croma’s top line rose but with widening losses; BigBasket continued to face shrinking revenues and losses as quick-commerce rivals surged ahead. 

Coinciding with the new leadership, Tata Sons is preparing to inject US$400 million (₹3,340 crore) into Tata Digital, funded from dividend earnings of Tata Consultancy Services, to provide a much-needed capital infusion. 

Moreover, the company will relocate its Mumbai headquarters from Fort House in Fort to a more cost-effective facility at One International Centre in Lower Parel from 1 September. The move is expected to cut rental expenditure from around ₹3 crore per month to about ₹1 crore, saving roughly ₹2 crore monthly.