In yet another leadership shakeup at the Tata Group’s embattled digital venture, Tata Digital managing director and chief executive officer Naveen Tahilyani has stepped down, deepening concerns about the Group’s ongoing struggle to stabilise operations at its super-app platform, Tata Neu. His departure marks the second CEO exit in just over a year, highlighting the persistent execution and organisational challenges the venture faces.
Tata Digital has yet to name Tahilyani’s successor.
Tahilyani, who took over the reins in February 2024 from founding CEO Pratik Pal, exits after a short 15-month tenure. He has now taken on a broader international role as regional CEO (India, Africa, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar) with responsibility for Health at UK-based insurance and asset management major Prudential Plc.
His exit comes at a critical juncture for Tata Digital, which has been under pressure to demonstrate progress with Tata Neu, the super-app launched in April 2022 to consolidate the Tata Group’s consumer-facing digital businesses. Despite significant financial backing, reportedly to the tune of $2 billion, the app has struggled to gain traction among users, missed revenue targets, and has failed to present a coherent customer experience.
Tahilyani, a Tata Group veteran who previously led Tata AIA Life Insurance, was handpicked by Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran to steer the floundering digital operation back on course. His mandate included streamlining business verticals and consolidating Tata Group’s digital assets, ranging from electronics retailer Croma, online fashion platform Tata Cliq, jewellery brand CaratLane, and pharmacy 1mg, to grocery delivery service BigBasket, into a unified digital ecosystem under Tata Neu.
However, attempts to bring alignment among these disparate companies reportedly faced resistance. Individual business units were reluctant to cede control over their digital operations, resulting in a disjointed experience for consumers. Tata Neu, which sought to emulate the success of super-apps in other markets like China’s WeChat, has suffered from inconsistent user journeys, especially during checkout processes across different verticals.
Financially, the strain has shown. In FY23, the year following Tata Neu’s launch, Tata Digital posted a widening loss of Rs 5,553.11 crore, nearly doubling from Rs 2,945.01 crore the previous year. The spike was attributed to increased spending on technology, inventory, and marketing, with analysts pointing to the cost-heavy nature of building such an ecosystem from scratch.
The fundamental issue, experts argue, is the absence of a core use case or loyal customer base that binds Tata Neu’s services together. While WeChat succeeded by building upon an existing social messaging user base, Tata Neu began as a commerce-first platform without a natural entry point or core proposition to keep users engaged.