The passing of Ratan Tata has brought attention to succession at Tata Trusts, the largest public charitable foundations in India and the owner of the $165-billion Tata Group. As Tata did not designate a successor, the boards of Trusts will have to select a chairman from among the trustees. Though the Trusts comprises several foundations the two main units are Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust.These two entities collectively hold approximately 52% in Tata Sons, the parent of Tata Group, which has a diverse portfolio ranging from aviation to automobiles.

There are 13 trustees in total across the two Trusts, with five individuals serving as common trustees for both. The five common trustees are former defence secretary Vijay Singh, automobile industrialist Venu Srinivasan, Ratan Tata’s half brother and Trent chairman Noel Tata, businessman Mehli Mistry and lawyer Darius Khambata. The other trustees include former Citi India CEO Pramit Jhaveri at Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, and Ratan Tata’s younger brother Jimmy Tata and Jehangir Hospital CEO Jehangir H C Jehangir at Sir Ratan Tata Trust.

The chairman of Tata Trusts is elected through majority consent among the trustees. Vijay Singh and Venu Srinivasan hold the position of vice-chairmen at the Trusts. However, the likelihood of either of them being selected as the chairman is relatively low. Noel Tata, aged 67, has a high likelihood of being named the chairman of Tata Trusts. This appointment would satisfy the Parsi community and ensure that a member of the founding family leads the philanthropic organisation, which distributed $56 million (Rs 470 crore) in FY23.

Historically, only Parsis have chaired Tata Trusts, even if some had non-Tata surnames and no direct connection to the founding family. If appointed, Noel would become the 11th chairman of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the sixth chairman of Sir Ratan Tata Trust. Noel has been involved with the Tata Group for over four decades and holds positions on the boards of six key companies, including Trent, Titan, and Tata Steel. He was appointed a trustee of Sir Ratan Tata Trust in 2019 and later joined the board of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust in 2022.

He was considered a potential candidate to take over as the chairman of Tata Sons after Tata’s tenure. However, the position was ultimately given to Cyrus Mistry, Noel’s brother-in-law. After Mistry’s controversial exit, the role of Tata Sons chairman was then assumed by N Chandrasekaran, a seasoned executive from TCS. Noel and Ratan Tata were not often spotted in each other’s company and preferred to keep their distance. However, in recent times, the half- brothers have bridged the gap between them to a large extent.