Noel Tata: The ‘Other Tata’ Makes A Quiet Impact

There is a sense of déjà vu one got witnessing the recent boardroom battle at Tata Trusts which collectively owns 66.66 per cent in Tata Sons, the holding company of the $180 billion Tata Group. Sixty-eight-year old Noel Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts finally had his way by ousting Mehli Mistry, a close confidante of his half-brother the late Ratan Tata. Basically, on October 28, 2025, Noel Tata along with other trustees -- Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus of TVS Motor and Vijay Singh, former defence secretary blocked the reappointment of Mehli Mistry as a “trustee for life”.

That move saw supporters of Mehli Mistry like Pramit Jhaveri, former CEO, Citibank India, legal eagle Darius Khambata and philanthropist Jehangir HC Jehangir dial down. Reportedly, all the four had opposed the reappointment of Vijay Singh on the Tata Sons board. Mehli was getting ready for a big fight; he even filed a caveat with the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner over his ouster but later decided to quietly exit from all the Tata trusts.

Not without reason. The government of the day was seen to be supporting Noel Tata. Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran along with Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan and Darius Khambata had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the former’s residence to apprise them of the rift among trustees. A source told CNBC-TV18 that the government 'cannot be a mute spectator' to the developments, given their potential implications for Tata Sons’ operations and the broader Indian economy. Perhaps, this government support must have unnerved Mehli’s camp. It also brought to fore Noel’s damage control skill.

In a way Noel Tata was lucky. The battle between the trustees which was making headlines almost every day was contained within a month or two.

But, Ratan Tata was not so fortunate. He had to fight two messy battles -- first in 1991 and second one in 2016.

In 1991 when Ratan Tata was appointed Chairman of Tata Sons vis a vis Tata Group. All hell broke loose. Then satraps like Russi Mody (Tata Steel), Ajit Kerkar (Indian Hotels) and Darbari Seth (Tata Chemicals) who were running a loose confederation of companies were in defiance mode. They questioned JRD Tata’s idea of appointing a young man (he was 54 then) as Group Chairman.

Ratan too played on the front foot with his multi-pronged strategy to rein in the old guards. He put in place a retirement age policy which said directors can hold executive positions till the age of 65 and non-executive positions till 75. Next, he went after satraps one by one. He started with Russi Mody. To pull the right connections he went to Delhi along with his good friend ‘then’ Nusli Wadia who was also on the board of Tata Steel, to woo the Sharad Pawar camp. At the same time, he persuaded JRD to make a rare request to the government to secure the financial institution’s support. With so much heat, Russi Modi threw in the towel. Soon others fell in line.

His second battle in 2016 was even more unsavoury. Ratan Tata had handpicked Cyrus Mistry in 2011 as the Chairman of Tata Group, even though his advisors were pushing for his half-brother Noel Tata. Noel is married to Cyrus Mistry’s sister Aloo.  This was the first -- Noel Tata’s well-wishers rooting for him.

Five years later Cyrus was sacked in October 2016 for losing the trust and confidence of the Tata Sons board. A few months later, in February 2017, N Chandrasekaran, popularly known as Chandra, took over as the Executive Chairman of the Tata Group. This time too Noel’s name was strongly suggested but it was overlooked. That was the second time.

Ratan Tata backed Chandra to the hilt. And Chandra too proved his mettle. And the board rewarded him with two extensions which will see him in the Chairman’s seat till 2032 when he turns 70.

The third time the rumour mill became active was when he was appointed Chairman of Tata Trusts on 11 October 2024, two days after Ratan Tata passed away. More. Recently, he won a boardroom battle against Mehli Mistry and his 32-year old highly educated son Neville was inducted on the board of Tata Trusts. Plus, his two highly qualified daughters Leah and Maya were already working with the Tata Group. These series of events added grist to the rumour mill from time to time. Maybe his well-wishers were reading too much between the lines that he is consolidating his position.

But the big question is: Will Noel be interested…given the fact, he is on a strong wicket. He is on the two powerful boards -- Chairman of Tata Trusts and Nominee Director of Tata Sons -- which directly controls the entire Tata Group. This is the first time after 2011, a Tata family member is simultaneously holding the position on both the boards.

Sure, this ‘other Tata’ ticks all the boxes. He has more than proved his business acumen. He has quietly built Trent into a retail power house …created two strong brands, West Side and Zudio. And his talent and achievements have been recognised within the Group. He is Chairman of Trent, Tata International, Vice Chairman of Titan and Tata Steel.

There have been all round praises about his work ethics and gentlemanly behaviour. People who have worked with him very closely say he always comes to meetings fully prepared. He is very focused during discussions, raises relevant questions and offers specific suggestions. He is not one of those guys trying to give you global gyan. As somebody who knows him well says, he is “impeccable, intelligent, soft and a good guy”.

Going by his track record, one is sure, he will not throw his hat in the ring. The board has already given Chandra an extension till 2032 by which time Noel turns 75. It is my educated guess that the generational change strategy may see Noel Tata’s son Neville, who would be around 39-40 years then, step into Chandra’s shoes. Remember, JRD Tata was 34 years old when he took over the reins.