N. Chandrasekaran's exit as chairman of Tata Sons has reignited investor concern about the influence of Tata Trusts, the charity that controls 66% of the holding company behind India's 158-year-old Tata group. The departure, which Reuters reported was driven solely by disagreements with Tata Trusts, comes as the conglomerate grapples with losses at Air India and e-commerce businesses while pursuing manufacturing work for clients including Apple. Tata group stocks briefly shed a combined $4.6 billion in market value before recovering later on Thursday. Vijay Singh, a trustee at Tata Trusts, said investors would be right to worry about stability because the group's relationship with its largest shareholder matters, even as he described the charity as largely hands-off in business decisions. The episode has revived memories of the 2016 removal of a previous Tata Sons chairman after a fallout with Ratan Tata, raising questions over whether such disruptions could recur under current Trust chairman Noel Tata. Investors cited succession planning, board independence and Tata's ability to set priorities without Trust pressure as key issues to watch. Foreign and domestic institutional investors have an estimated $54 billion to $56 billion of exposure across five of Tata's most closely watched listed companies. Despite the current uncertainty, investor wealth expanded sharply during Chandrasekaran's tenure, with the combined market capitalization of Tata companies rising to $277 billion by March 31 from $76 billion when he took over in 2017.