After Ratan, who will be the chairman of Tata Trusts?- The New Indian Express | Daily News Byte

Whoever controls the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, and dozens of their affiliates, hold sway over Tata Sons, the parent company of the salt-and-software business empire. Lao-Ratan Tata is the current chairman of two entities – lords of more than ten operating arms such as TCS, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, and Tata Chemicals. Who will inherit Ratan’s legacy as the next chairman of the trust? Instead, among trustees, loyalists and outsiders, who is most likely to do so?

These questions are worth at least 275 billion dollars, the total market value of 17 Tata companies listed at 12 o’clock on December 2, 2022. Recent changes in the rules governing trusts and the motivation of new trustees indicate that the succession strategy is. in progress. It is a matter of a few years or months before we know whether a ‘Tata’, a non-family ‘Parsi’, or an outsider will be leading the two trusts. But here is the catch. Ratan Tata was pressured to rescind his appointment as chairman, Tata Sons, and chairman, Tata Trusts. Now, the same person cannot possess both.

The heir to Ratan Tata’s wealth will not be his business heir. This opens the door for the continuation and future entry of a professional chairman at Tata Sons and other operating arms, although family members or loyalists monitor the work of the trust and the group through the trust’s 66% shareholding of Tata Sons. This is what Ratan Tata was willing to do when he inducted his cousin, the late Cyrus Mistry, as the ‘professional’ chairman of Tata Sons. But they failed miserably, sparking a legal battle and a media frenzy. good

Fortunately for Ratan Tata, the Supreme Court’s order in the Tata-Mistry case made his position, and trust, stronger. The Supreme Court ruled that the trusts and their chairman had the right to interfere in the working of Tata Sons. Through one-third of the directors appointed on the board of Tata Sons, the trust can influence important decisions such as five-year and annual strategic plans, future investments, and the size of debt. They have the right to confirm—unless the majority of trustees appointed to the trust disagree, the issue raised by the board will naturally die. It means that the trust can do something similar to the operating arm, whose fate is decided by Tata Sons.

The war with Cyrus came as a rude shock to Ratan Tata after he stepped down as chairman of Tata Sons, ditched his half-brother, Noel, and chose Mistry as his successor. Now, the family has returned. Insiders are now important in Ratan’s scheme of things. Noel is a trustee of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, which together own more than 50% of Tata Sons. He is a trustee of two allied trusts, the Bai Hirabai JN Tata Navsari Charitable Institution and the JN Tata Endowment.

More than a month ago, in a move that appears to be key to succession issues, Noel’s three children, daughters Leah and Maya, and son Neville, were appointed trustees of the Tata Medical Center Trust, which manages a cancer hospital in Kolkata.

The entry of young blood – children in their thirties – and the media reports that the three will work under the guidance of Ratan, indicating the latter’s intention to pass the baton to one or three children in the distant future. (More recently, another Indian conglomerate, Mukesh Ambani, anointed two sons and two daughters of He is the successor.)

Then there is another, more ‘hidden out of sight’ Tata. He is not directly in the picture but can play a larger-than-life role in the ongoing plot. Media reports reported that Lao “lives quietly in a humble home in the city. Colaba (Mumbai)”. Apart from being a shareholder of Tata Sons and other operating arms, Jimmy Tata, Ratan’s real brother, is a trustee in Sir Ratan Tata Trust and affiliates like Sarvajanik Seva Trust and Bai Hirabai JN Tata Navsari Charitable Institution. He does not own a mobile but knows the pulse at Bombay House, the headquarters of the Tata Group. During the Mistry-Ratan war, he had a thick file containing “letters to the Trustees of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Board of Tata Sons” on several issues.

Don’t underestimate ‘Missry’. After the rise and fall of Cyrus – the rise of Mehli Mistry, whose mother is Cyrus’ sister – inside the Tata Trusts seems to be a phenomenon. He is a trustee of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. Importantly, he is a close friend of Ratan. Before his untimely death, Cyrus accused Mehli’s company of receiving favors from the Tata group. The Supreme Court dismissed this accusation. Ratan tends to listen to Mehli’s advice.

Two friends, a civil servant and an entrepreneur, are part of Ratan’s entourage. Vijay Singh, a former defense minister, and Venu Srinivasan, who owns the TVS group, were appointed as vice-chairmen of the two main Tata Trusts and several affiliates. Both are directors in Tata Sons. In 2021-22, Venu Srinivasan was a member of the key groups in the parent company, which included the Group Risk Management Committee, the Audit Committee, and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

After the public Tata-Mistry clash, Ratan wished to be a professional part of the group and Trust. In 2020, he appointed Srinath Narasimhan as the first CEO of Tata Trusts.

Srinath is set to retire on October 30, 2022. Recent reports suggest that the shortlist of possible names includes Siddharth Sharma, Chief Sustainability Officer of Tata Sons Group and Sukaran Singh, CEO, Tata Advanced Systems. Ratan, added one of the reports, will make the final call. Due to the split between Tata Sons and the trusts, N Chandrasekaran, Executive Chairman, Tata Sons, will not be chairman of Tata Trusts unless he leaves the parent company.

But what happens when he leaves the group? Will the new chairman of Tata Sons be a family man, who does not control the trust, or an outside expert? After Ratan, who will be the chairman of Tata Trusts?

Alam Srinivas

Freelance journalist and author

(alamsrinivas@gmail.com)

</p> <p>Whoever controls the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, and dozens of their affiliates, hold sway over Tata Sons, the parent company of the salt-and-software business empire. Lao-Ratan Tata is the current chairman of two entities – lords of more than ten operating arms such as TCS, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, and Tata Chemicals. Who will inherit Ratan’s legacy as the next chairman of the trust? Instead, among trustees, loyalists and outsiders, who is most likely to do so? These questions are worth at least 275 billion dollars, the total market value of 17 Tata companies listed at 12 o’clock on December 2, 2022. Recent changes in the rules governing trusts and the motivation of new trustees indicate that the succession strategy is. in progress. It is a matter of a few years or months before we know whether a ‘Tata’, a non-family ‘Parsi’, or an outsider will be leading the two trusts. But here is the catch. Ratan Tata was pressured to rescind his appointment as chairman, Tata Sons, and chairman, Tata Trusts. Now, the same person cannot possess both. The heir to Ratan Tata’s wealth will not be his business heir. This opens the door for the continuation and future entry of a professional chairman at Tata Sons and other operating arms, although family members or loyalists monitor the work of the trust and the group through the trust’s 66% shareholding of Tata Sons. This is what Ratan Tata was willing to do when he inducted his cousin, the late Cyrus Mistry, as the ‘professional’ chairman of Tata Sons. But they failed miserably, sparking a legal battle and a media frenzy. good Fortunately for Ratan Tata, the Supreme Court’s order in the Tata-Mistry case made his position, and trust, stronger. The Supreme Court ruled that the trusts and their chairman had the right to interfere in the working of Tata Sons. Through one-third of the directors appointed on the board of Tata Sons, the trust can influence important decisions such as five-year and annual strategic plans, future investments, and the size of debt. They have the right to confirm—unless the majority of trustees appointed to the trust disagree, the issue raised by the board will naturally die. It means that the trust can do something similar to the operating arm, whose fate is decided by Tata Sons. The war with Cyrus came as a rude shock to Ratan Tata after he stepped down as chairman of Tata Sons, ditched his half-brother, Noel, and chose Mistry as his successor. Now, the family has returned. Insiders are now important in Ratan’s scheme of things. Noel is a trustee of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, which together own more than 50% of Tata Sons. He is a trustee of two allied trusts, the Bai Hirabai JN Tata Navsari Charitable Institution and the JN Tata Endowment. More than a month ago, in a move that appears to be key to succession issues, Noel’s three children, daughters Leah and Maya, and son Neville, were appointed trustees of the Tata Medical Center Trust, which manages a cancer hospital in Kolkata. The entry of young blood – children in their thirties – and the media reports that the three will work under the guidance of Ratan, indicating the latter’s intention to pass the baton to one or three children in the distant future. (More recently, another Indian conglomerate, Mukesh Ambani, anointed his son and two daughters as successors.) Then there’s another Tata hidden from view. He is not directly in the picture but can play a larger-than-life role in the ongoing plot. Media reports reported that Lao “lives quietly in a humble home in the city. Colaba (Mumbai)”. Apart from being a shareholder of Tata Sons and other operating arms, Jimmy Tata, Ratan’s real brother, is a trustee in Sir Ratan Tata Trust and affiliates like Sarvajanik Seva Trust and Bai Hirabai JN Tata Navsari Charitable Institution. He does not own a mobile but knows the pulse at Bombay House, the headquarters of the Tata Group. During the Mistry-Ratan war, he had a thick file containing “letters to the Trustees of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Board of Tata Sons” on several issues. Don’t underestimate ‘Missry’. After the rise and fall of Cyrus – the rise of Mehli Mistry, whose mother is Cyrus’ sister – inside the Tata Trusts seems to be a phenomenon. He is a trustee of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. Importantly, he is a close friend of Ratan. Before his untimely death, Cyrus accused Mehli’s company of receiving favors from the Tata group. The Supreme Court dismissed this charge. Ratan tends to listen to Mehli’s advice. Two friends, a civil servant and an entrepreneur, are part of Ratan’s entourage. Vijay Singh, a former defense minister, and Venu Srinivasan, who owns the TVS group, were appointed as vice-chairmen of the two main Tata Trusts and several affiliates. Both are directors in Tata Sons. In 2021-22, Venu Srinivasan was a member of the key groups in the parent company, which included the Group Risk Management Committee, the Audit Committee, and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. After the Tata-Mistry public clash, Ratan wishes to be a professional part of group and trust. In 2020, he appointed Srinath Narasimhan as the first CEO of Tata Trusts. Srinath is set to retire on October 30, 2022. Recent reports suggest that the shortlist of possible names includes Siddharth Sharma, Chief Sustainability Officer of Tata Sons Group and Sukaran Singh, CEO, Tata Advanced Systems. Ratan, added one of the reports, will make the final call. Due to the split between Tata Sons and the trusts, N Chandrasekaran, Executive Chairman, Tata Sons, will not be chairman of Tata Trusts unless he leaves the parent company. But what happens when he leaves the group? Will the new chairman of Tata Sons be a family man, who does not control the trust, or an outside expert? After Ratan, who will be the chairman of Tata Trusts? Alam Srinivas Freelance Journalist and Author (alamsrinivas@gmail.com)<br />