Mr. Narendran worked in the International Trading Division of Tata Steel from 1988 to 1997 wherein he spent five years in Dubai looking after Tata Steels' exports to the Middle East. From 1997 to 2001, he spent time in Tata Steels' marketing and sales division and was involved in market development work for the Cold Rolling Mill Project, Supply Chain Management, Sales Planning, etc. From 2001 to 2003, he was the Chief of Marketing & Sales (Long Products) and played a key role in building the 'Tata Tiscon' brand and the distribution network for the same. From 2003 to 2005, he worked with Mr. B. Muthuraman, the then Managing Director of Tata Steel, as his Principal Executive Officer.
He was actively involved in the Tata Steel's first overseas acquisition, NatSteel, and was seconded there as an Executive Vice President in 2005. He ran operations in NatSteel thereafter as the Deputy President (Operations) and took over as the President & CEO on January 1, 2008. He played a key role in the integration of NatSteel and Tata Steel.
Before being appointed as MD - Tata Steel India and South East Asia, on November 1, 2013, Mr. Narendran was the Vice President - Safety, Flat Products & Long Products Divisions of Tata Steel.
During his stint in NatSteel, Mr. Narendran was a director on the Board of South East Asia Iron & Steel Institute (SEAISI) and also served as the President of the ASEAN Iron & Steel Federation (AISIF) from 2007 to 2009. He was also the Vice Chairman of the CII (India Business Forum) in Singapore.
He is currently on the Boards of Tata Steel Limited, Tata Steel Europe, CEDEP, XLRI and World Steel Association. He is currently the Chairman of CII, Jharkhand.