'... that work is done. The task is to reallocate what has been built, with the courage of a founder and the discipline of an owner.'
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, credited with stabilising Tata Sons after a boardroom coup and overseeing significant expansion, has announced his resignation as chairman, capping a nearly decade-long tenure marked by both successes and escalating tensions with the group's controlling charitable trusts.
'whom he believes in ... or whom he has faith in. But we don't know whether that person will be competent or not. This will lead to a lot of uncertainty in the minds of investors and shareholders of the Tata group companies.'
N Chandrasekaran not only faces muted financial performance from the group's listed companies, but also mounting losses at Tata Sons' unlisted subsidiaries, many of which have been set up by him in the last decade.
N Chandrasekaran will step down as chairman of Tata Sons in February 2027, concluding a decade at the helm, following a prolonged standoff over his reappointment with Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata.
Just in case the AGM, scheduled At the AGM, if it is held, a shareholders' vote on Chandra's renewal as a director on the Tata Sons board is unlikely but not ruled out.
Tata Steel more than doubled its Indian capacity through acquisitions and expansion, strengthening cash generation as it pursued a costly restructuring of its European operations.
While the latest trigger for him stepping down could be the uncertainty around his renewal as a director at the AGM, which is otherwise a routine matter, Chandra may have been contemplating quitting for some time now because of the overall turbulence with the principal shareholder on the leadership issue.
Chandrasekaran's exit is more than a change of chairman. It represents the breakdown of the informal consensus that governed the Tata system under Ratan Tata.
'Not many know that Ratan Tata became chairman of Tata Sons because of Cyrus's father Pallonji Mistry. But he (Cyrus) never used it or leveraged it to his benefit.'
While the leadership issues may get sorted in the upcoming board meetings of Tata Trusts and Tata Sons, listing of the holding company of the Group on stock exchange should potentially resolve the bigger question on ownership and control
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea of the Sapoorji Pallonji (SP) group seeking a review of the 2021 verdict which had upheld the Tata group's decision to remove Cyrus Mistry as the executive chairman of the Tata Sons. A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, however, ordered the deletion of certain remarks made against Cyrus Mistry in the March 2021 verdict. Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the Tata group, said the court may permit the deletion of one or a few sentences not for the reasons given in the application of the Sapoorji Pallonji (SP) group.
The driver of the car in which Cyrus Mistry was travelling lost control due to overspeeding and rammed into the divider, said Palghar Police sources on Sunday.
'The untimely demise of Shri Cyrus Mistry is shocking. He was a promising business leader who believed in India's economic prowess,' Prime Minister Modi said in a tweet.
'Cyrus was always very different. He would think before acting.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said he has asked the state police to conduct a detailed investigation into the accident in which former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was killed.
Ratan Tata: A Life, the much awaited biography, reveals that after a year of 'parallel running', Tata began having second thoughts about Cyrus Mistry's 'suitability'. 'Mistry targeted Ratan, the man who had elevated him from virtual oblivion into the mainstream of the Tatas...'
A family priest performed the prayers as per Parsi tradition before the last rites.
If Tata Sons is listed, the special veto rights of Tata Trusts, under Article 121A, may have to go away.
His wife, Dr Anahita Pandole, who was driving the car at the time of the accident, was recovering and will be discharged soon, said an official of the Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital.
If Cyrus's protestations of having no knowledge of his imminent dismissal are to be taken at face value, he was extraordinarily naive and insulated from the ground reality. There were enough straws in the wind to suggest that his relations with Ratan were fast deteriorating to a point of no return.
Members of the Parsi community, business leaders and politicians were among those who attended the cremation.
Calling Cyrus Mistry her twin, Nationalist Congress Party leader Supriya Sule on Monday said she has been devastated by the demise of the former chairman of Tata Sons.
The police team probing the crash are examining the CCTV footage for further leads, the official said.
Shapoorji and Pallonji Group to contest Cyrus Mistry's ouster from Tata Sons
The government is closely watching the fast-paced developments at the salt-to-semiconductor conglomerate.
Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz has submitted its interim report on the fatal accident of industrialist Cyrus Mistry to the Palghar police, which mentions that the brakes of the vehicle were pressed five seconds before it crashed into the road divider, a senior official said on Friday.
The billionaire Mistry family's estate is likely to soon change hands. The assets in the name of Cyrus Mistry, who died in September last year, may soon be divided equally among his wife Rohiqa and sons Firoz and Zahan, according to sources. The reorganisation will also include the 9.2 per cent stake in Tata Sons, which is currently in Cyrus Mistry's name and held through his investment company Cyrus Investments.
Mistry exhorted the employees to carry forward the legacy of the group's founder Jamsetji Tata.
Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was on Sunday killed in a road accident after his car hit a divider in Maharashtra's Palghar district neighbouring Mumbai, a police official said.
30 companies belonging to the Tata group are listed and have a combined market cap of 478,659 crore.
A well-known gynaecologist in Mumbai was driving the car which crashed into a road divider on Sunday, killing former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and another occupant of the vehicle, the police said.
The Tata Sons board has deferred a decision on the re-appointment of Natarajan Chandrasekaran as Chairman, signaling potential differences within the group. Concerns were raised about losses in certain group companies and the listing of Tata Sons.
The police in Palghar district of Maharashtra, who are investigating the Mistry car accident case, have found this during their investigation.
Dr Anahita had only worn the shoulder harness from the back and had not adjusted the lap belt, police said.
The Supreme Court on Friday set aside NCLAT order of December 18, 2019 restoring Cyrus Mistry as executive chairman of Tata Group.
The slowdown heat has been felt the most in steel, commercial vehicles and hotels
Like JRD Tata, Mistry also loves Cantonese-style Chinese takeaway from Colaba's cult restaurant Ling's Pavilion.
The 100-km stretch of Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway claimed at least 62 lives.
'The main thing Cyrus left is to tell us that you can be a business leader by being good.' 'He practiced that in all of his dealings, in all of his decisions -- in the way he thought, the way he behaved and indeed as he spoke.'
