PB Balaji, the 54-year-old group finance chief at Tata Motors, is rapidly establishing himself as a pivotal figure within the Tata Group, having won the confidence of chairman N Chandrasekaran for his strategic acumen and financial expertise.

Balaji has been appointed to the boards of Air India, Titan, Tata Technologies and Tata Consumer. He was hand-picked by Chandrasekaran, who cold-called him in 2017 when he was the CFO at Hindustan Unilever and convinced him to join the Tata Group. A strategic thinker, Balaji soon won the chairman's confidence, after helping stage a turnaround of the automobile major.

He is one of the top earning executives in the Tata Group. In fiscal 2024, Balaji took home a total salary of INR 20.78 crore, up 24% from INR 16.73 crore the previous year. His basic salary was INR 3.26 crore and he received benefits, perquisites and allowances worth INR 5.48 crore. Commission, bonus and performance incentives stood at INR 5.76 crore. He also received stock options worth INR 5.87 crore.

Before joining the Tata Group, Balaji spent a significant portion of his career at Unilever, where he developed a reputation for strong financial stewardship and operational efficiency. As the CFO of Unilever's South Asia division, he was responsible for driving financial growth and managing the financial health of one of the company's most important markets. His experience at the FMCG behemoth, where he managed large teams and complex market dynamics, positioned him as an ideal candidate for tackling the challenges at Tata Motors, a company which was in need of a fresh approach to both financial and operational restructuring.

Balaji had been credited for the transformative restructuring initiative in Tata Motors where he optimised operations, reduced costs and realigned the product portfolio, significantly contributing to its turnaround.

His focus on profitable growth rather than just market share has positively impacted the company's commercial vehicles business. He prioritised debt reduction and operational efficiencies as well as made an aggressive push toward electric vehicles that has given the company a competitive edge in the rapidly changing automotive market.

Currently, Tata Motors' Indian business is debt-free and has a positive cash position of INR 1,000 crore. The company achieved its highest-ever consolidated revenue from operations at INR 4.38 lakh crore in FY24.

"Balaji is one of the best CFOs I have had the pleasure to work with. He combines a great understanding of business with deep domain skills," said Sanjiv Mehta, former chief at Hindustan Unilever.

Balaji has his hands full for the coming months, with the proposed demerger of Tata Motors into two separate publicly traded companies - one for commercial vehicles and the other for passenger vehicles, including Jaguar Land Rover - expected within the next 15 months. He is also working on simplifying the company's capital structure, a significant request from investors.

Additionally, the merger of Tata Motors Finance with Tata Capital is underway.