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Naveen Tahilyani Resigns as CEO of Tata Digital After Just Over a Year

• ByStartupStory     |    May 24, 2025

Tata Digital has announced the departure of its Chief Executive Officer, Naveen Tahilyani, marking an abrupt end to his brief tenure at the helm of the Tata Group’s ambitious digital venture. Tahilyani, who assumed the role in February last year, will officially step down on June 30 and is set to return to the insurance and financial services sector. He is slated to join UK-based asset management giant Prudential Plc as the Regional CEO for India, Africa, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. In addition to his regional responsibilities, he will also oversee Prudential’s health vertical, the company said in an official statement.

An alumnus of IIT Madras and IIM Ahmedabad, Tahilyani brought with him over 17 years of consulting experience at McKinsey & Co. before entering the insurance space with Tata AIA Life in 2015. He briefly moved to Axis Bank in 2020 before being reappointed to lead Tata AIA later the same year. He was handpicked by Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran to stabilize and steer Tata Digital toward profitability. Tata Digital operates the conglomerate’s super app Tata Neu, as well as acquired consumer platforms such as BigBasket and 1mg.

During his time as CEO, Tahilyani made bold strides in restructuring and driving the business towards fiscal health. In his inaugural town hall with employees, he had emphasized a strong focus on “profitability and technology,” setting a tone for his tenure. Under his leadership, Tata Digital saw marked improvement in its financial performance. Tahilyani also restructured the company’s leadership by onboarding experienced industry professionals, including Vinay Vaidya, former Amazon executive, as Chief Technology Officer; Jairaj Sathyanarayana, with past stints at Swiggy and Amazon, as Chief Data and AI Officer; and Satyam Mehra, formerly of Zomato, as Chief Strategy Officer.

Despite these strides, his sudden departure leaves uncertainty about the company’s trajectory and its ongoing efforts to turn profitable. The Tata Group has not yet announced a successor to Tahilyani. His exit also coincides with BigBasket—one of Tata Digital’s key consumer businesses—looking to raise additional funding to scale its quick commerce operations. The future of that initiative may now hinge on the incoming leadership and the group’s commitment to expanding its digital portfolio.

As the search for new leadership begins, all eyes are on how Tata Digital will navigate this transition and sustain momentum in India’s competitive digital commerce landscape.

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