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Noel Tata, 67, is a strong contender for the position of chairman at Tata Trusts after the passing away of Ratan Tata. Noel Tata is the son of Naval H. Tata and Simone N. Tata, and the half-brother of Ratan Tata.
The demise of Ratan Tata has brought the succession plan at Tata Trusts into the spotlight. As the largest public charitable foundations in India and the majority owner of the $165-billion Tata Group, the Trusts’ boards will have to appoint a new chairman from among the trustees since Tata did not name a successor.
The two primary entities within the Trusts are Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, which together hold around 52% in Tata Sons, the parent company of the Tata Group. The Group has a wide-ranging portfolio that includes aviation and automobiles.
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Noel Tata’s possible appointment would appease the Parsi community and ensure that a member of the founding family leads the philanthropic organization, which distributed $56 million (Rs 470 crore) in FY23.
Who is Noel Naval Tata?
- Noel N Tata, the Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Tata International Limited, has been a part of the Tata group for four decades.
- Noel Tata currently holds positions on the Boards of several Tata Group Companies, including serving as the Chairman of Trent, Voltas & Tata Investment Corporation, and as the Vice Chairman of Tata Steel and Titan Company Limited.
- In addition to his corporate responsibilities, Noel Tata is also a Trustee on the Board of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.
- His most recent executive role was as the Managing Director of Tata International Limited, which is the trading and distribution arm of the Tata Group. Between August 2010 and November 2021 he oversaw the growth of the company from a turnover of $500 mn to over $3 bn.
- Before his tenure at Tata International, Noel Tata held the position of Managing Director at Trent Limited, where he played a crucial role in the company’s expansion across various formats, growing from a single store in 1998 to over 700 stores today.
- Noel Tata holds a degree from Sussex University (UK) and has also completed the International Executive Programme (IEP) at INSEAD.
Ratan Tata with father and half-brother Noel
Traditionally, only Parsis have served as chairmen of Tata Trusts, even if some had non-Tata surnames and no direct ties to the founding family.
If selected, Noel would be the 11th chairman of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the sixth chairman of Sir Ratan Tata Trust.
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Previously, Noel was seen as a potential candidate to succeed Tata as the chairman of Tata Sons. However, the role was given to Cyrus Mistry, Noel’s brother-in-law.
Following Mistry’s controversial departure, N Chandrasekaran, an experienced executive from TCS, took over as the chairman of Tata Sons. Although Noel and Ratan Tata were not frequently seen together and maintained a distance, the half-brothers have recently bridged the gap between them to a significant extent, according to a TOI report.
