Ganesh Kendale
Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, passed away at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital on Wednesday night (October 9). He was admitted to the hospital earlier this week for routine age-related checkups but was moved into intensive care on Wednesday. The Tata GroupRatan Tata’s death in an official statement.
Ratan Tata’s death has led to the speculations about his likely successor.Noel Naval Tata, Ratan Tata’s half-brother, is said to be among the people likely to succeed him. Here’s Noel Tata‘s profile as it appears on Tata Sons website:
Noel N. Tata has been associated with the Tata group for 40 years and currently serves on the Board of various Tata Group Companies, including as the Chairman of Trent, Tata International Limited, Voltas & Tata Investment Corporation and as the 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.
His last executive assignment was as the Managing Director of Tata International Limited, the trading and distribution arm of the Tata Group, between August 2010 and November 2021, where he oversaw the growth of the company from a turnover of USD 500 mn to over USD 3 bn. Prior to Tata International, Mr Tata served as the Managing Director of Trent Limited. He has played a pivotal role in the growth of Trent across formats – from a one store operation in 1998 to over 700 stores across formats today.
Mr Tata graduated from Sussex University (UK) and has completed the International Executive Programme (IEP) from INSEAD.
He is the son of Mr Naval H. Tata and Mrs Simone N. Tata.
Noel’s three children get 5 Tata Trusts board seats
Earlier this year, Tata Group appointed Noel Tata’s three children to the boards of its five philanthropic entities. Leah, Maya and Neville have been made trustees of five Trusts – affiliates of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, the primary entities within Tata Trusts. These five Trusts own a stake in Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate. Approved by then Tata Trusts chairman Ratan Tata, their new roles took effect on May 6 this year.
These appointments also symbolise a shift at the 132-year-old Trusts, where seasoned veterans typically held trusteeships. Leah, Maya, and Neville have been holding managerial positions in various Tata operating companies and will continue to do so after assuming trusteeship.
