New Delhi:

Tatas, a brand that has for more than 150 years instilled a feeling of trust and reassurance, has always seen a line of succession where the people at the helm have set the very highest standards and ethics in the world of business. Their personalities cannot be separated from what the brand has evolved into.

Founded in 1868, Tatas have become one of largest and most diverse global conglomerates. It is a name heard in almost every home in India and tens of millions overseas.

Ratan Tata, the kind and graceful gentleman-industrialist and philanthropist, who is credited with taking brand Tata to over 100 countries under his leadership, died at a hospital in Mumbai earlier this week. His stewardship of the Tata behemoth has left a void that few can fill, or not – only time will tell.

Ratan Tata is being succeeded by his half-brother Noel Tata. Ratan Tata’s parents Naval Tata and Soonoo Commissariat got divorced when Ratan and his younger brother Jimmy were very young. Years later their father married Simone Dunoyer, and the two had a son Noel.

THE TATA FAMILY ANCESTRY

Ancestors of the Tata family migrated to India from Persia, now Iran, in the 8th century AD. They were part of a large group of Parsis (people from Persia), a Zoroastrian ethnic community, who fled persecution during the Islamic Conquest of Persia.

According to the Tata Central Archives, the Tatas settled in Navsari in Gujarat and lived there for 25 generations before business took them to Bombay – then the Bombay Presidency under the British Raj. At the time Bombay Province included the western two-thirds of Maharashtra, northwestern Karnataka, all of Gujarat, all of Sindh (now in Pakistan), and Aden (in present-day Yemen).

The journey of the Tata family’s business began with Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, who stated a trading company in Bombay in 1868, which has today become the Tata Group. The Tatas have always believed in the concept of country and society – building and uplifting the people and the community over personal gains – and right from the very beginning, Jamsetji and his two sons – Sir Dorabji Tata and Sir Ratan Tata – left most of their estate and shares in the company to charitable trusts.

Today, there are 14 different trusts run by the Tatas which work in different sectors, each independent of the other in the nature and field of work they do. All of these however, come under an umbrella organisation called Tata Trust. Ratan Tata was the Chairman of the Tata Trusts and Chairman Emeritus of the Tata Group. After his demise, his half-brother Noel Tata has become the Chairman of Tata Trusts while Natarajan Chandrasekaran is Chairman of the Tata Group, whose largest stakeholder is the Tata Trust.

NOEL TATA – NEW CHAIRMAN – TATA TRUSTS

Born in December 1957, Noel Tata is twenty years younger than his half-brother Ratan Tata. He is the son of Naval Tata and Simone Dunoyer, a French-Swiss Catholic and businesswoman from Switzerland.

Noel Tata holds a degree from Sussex University (UK) and has completed the International Executive Programme (IEP) at INSEAD.. He is an Indian-Irish businessman and has been appointed as the Chairman of the Tata Trust. He is married to Aloo Mistry, who is Cyrus Mistry’s sister and Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry’s granddaughter. They have three children – Neville, Maya, and Leah – all of whom are actively involved in the Tata conglomerate. Leah Tata is the Vice President at the Indian Hotels Company. While Maya Tata is associated with Tata Capital, Neville Tata is part of Trent and leadership team at Star Bazaar.

Noel Tata’s most prominent role before this new appointment was as Managing Director of Tata International Ltd, the group’s trading and distribution arm. Under his leadership from 2010 to 2021, the company grew from a turnover of $500 million to over $3 billion. As Managing Director of Trent Ltd, Tata’s retail arm, he expanded its operations from a single store in 1998 to over 700 stores across various formats.

Till his appointment as Chairman – Tata Trusts, Noel Tata has been chairman of Trent, Tata International Limited, Voltas and Tata Investment Corporation. He is also vice chairman of Tata Steel and Titan Company Limited. He also serves as a trustee on the board of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, which together comprise over 50 per cent of the ownership of Tata Sons.

Noel Tata has now become the sixth chairman of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and 11th chairman of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.
 

New Delhi:

Tatas, a brand that has for more than 150 years instilled a feeling of trust and reassurance, has always seen a line of succession where the people at the helm have set the very highest standards and ethics in the world of business. Their personalities cannot be separated from what the brand has evolved into.

Founded in 1868, Tatas have become one of largest and most diverse global conglomerates. It is a name heard in almost every home in India and tens of millions overseas.

Ratan Tata, the kind and graceful gentleman-industrialist and philanthropist, who is credited with taking brand Tata to over 100 countries under his leadership, died at a hospital in Mumbai earlier this week. His stewardship of the Tata behemoth has left a void that few can fill, or not – only time will tell.

Ratan Tata is being succeeded by his half-brother Noel Tata. Ratan Tata’s parents Naval Tata and Soonoo Commissariat got divorced when Ratan and his younger brother Jimmy were very young. Years later their father married Simone Dunoyer, and the two had a son Noel.

THE TATA FAMILY ANCESTRY

Ancestors of the Tata family migrated to India from Persia, now Iran, in the 8th century AD. They were part of a large group of Parsis (people from Persia), a Zoroastrian ethnic community, who fled persecution during the Islamic Conquest of Persia.

According to the Tata Central Archives, the Tatas settled in Navsari in Gujarat and lived there for 25 generations before business took them to Bombay – then the Bombay Presidency under the British Raj. At the time Bombay Province included the western two-thirds of Maharashtra, northwestern Karnataka, all of Gujarat, all of Sindh (now in Pakistan), and Aden (in present-day Yemen).

The journey of the Tata family’s business began with Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, who stated a trading company in Bombay in 1868, which has today become the Tata Group. The Tatas have always believed in the concept of country and society – building and uplifting the people and the community over personal gains – and right from the very beginning, Jamsetji and his two sons – Sir Dorabji Tata and Sir Ratan Tata – left most of their estate and shares in the company to charitable trusts.

Today, there are 14 different trusts run by the Tatas which work in different sectors, each independent of the other in the nature and field of work they do. All of these however, come under an umbrella organisation called Tata Trust. Ratan Tata was the Chairman of the Tata Trusts and Chairman Emeritus of the Tata Group. After his demise, his half-brother Noel Tata has become the Chairman of Tata Trusts while Natarajan Chandrasekaran is Chairman of the Tata Group, whose largest stakeholder is the Tata Trust.

NOEL TATA – NEW CHAIRMAN – TATA TRUSTS

Born in December 1957, Noel Tata is twenty years younger than his half-brother Ratan Tata. He is the son of Naval Tata and Simone Dunoyer, a French-Swiss Catholic and businesswoman from Switzerland.

Noel Tata holds a degree from Sussex University (UK) and has completed the International Executive Programme (IEP) at INSEAD.. He is an Indian-Irish businessman and has been appointed as the Chairman of the Tata Trust. He is married to Aloo Mistry, who is Cyrus Mistry’s sister and Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry’s granddaughter. They have three children – Neville, Maya, and Leah – all of whom are actively involved in the Tata conglomerate. Leah Tata is the Vice President at the Indian Hotels Company. While Maya Tata is associated with Tata Capital, Neville Tata is part of Trent and leadership team at Star Bazaar.

Noel Tata’s most prominent role before this new appointment was as Managing Director of Tata International Ltd, the group’s trading and distribution arm. Under his leadership from 2010 to 2021, the company grew from a turnover of $500 million to over $3 billion. As Managing Director of Trent Ltd, Tata’s retail arm, he expanded its operations from a single store in 1998 to over 700 stores across various formats.

Till his appointment as Chairman – Tata Trusts, Noel Tata has been chairman of Trent, Tata International Limited, Voltas and Tata Investment Corporation. He is also vice chairman of Tata Steel and Titan Company Limited. He also serves as a trustee on the board of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, which together comprise over 50 per cent of the ownership of Tata Sons.

Noel Tata has now become the sixth chairman of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and 11th chairman of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.
 

Noel Tata currently serves on the Board of various Tata Group Companies

Ratan Tata’s death has shifted attention to probable contenders for the position of chairman of Tata Trusts. One among them is Noel Tata, son of Naval H. Tata and Simone N. Tata, and half-brother to Ratan Tata.

Since Ratan Tata did not name a successor, the Trusts’ boards will choose a new chairman.

Also read: Ratan Tata death reactions live updates

Mr. Noel is currently the chairman of Trent, Tata International Limited, Voltas & Tata Investment Corporation and as the Vice Chairman of Tata Steel and Titan Company Limited. He has been associated with the Tata group for 40 years.

He also serves as a trustee on the board of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.

As managing director of Tata International Limited, the trading and distribution arm of the Tata Group, he grew the company from a $500 million turnover to over $3 billion between August 2010 and November 2021. From a one-store operation in 1998 to over 500 stores across formats today, Mr. Noel served as Managing Director of Trent Limited for more than 11 years before joining Tata International.

He graduated from Sussex University (UK) and has completed the International Executive Programme (IEP) from INSEAD.

Also read: Stray dogs of south Mumbai lose their best friend, Ratan Tata

If chosen as the next successor, Mr. Noel would be the sixth chairman of Sir Ratan Tata Trust.

Formerly, Mr. Noel had been considered as a possible successor to Ratan Tata, but the role was given to his brother-in-law Cyrus Mistry. Mistry was later ousted from his post, and he passed away in a car crash in 2022.

Noel Tata has a younger brother Jimmy.