Noel Tata Joins Tata Sons Board

Noel Tata who serves as the Chairman of Tata Trusts has joined the Board of Tata Sons, which

holds various Tata group companies.

As per a source, Tata was appointed on the firm’s board last week. Following the sad demise of Ratan Tata last month, Noel Tata was appointed as the Chairman of Tata Trusts. However, he

won’t be able to become the Chairman of Tata Sons as Ratan Tata separated the roles of Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Trusts. This was done to prevent the same person from heading both the institutions.

Additionally, other directors on Tata Sons Board include industrialist Ajay Piramal, former Unilever global COO Harish Manwani, JP Morgan India, South Asia Chairman Leo Puri, former World Bank official Anita M George, JLR CEO Ralph Speth and Tata Sons group CFO Saurabh Agarwal. About 18.4% stake in Tata Sons is held by Pallonji Mistry Group, but it doesn't have any nominee on the Tata Sons board.

Previously, Noel Tata was in the fray to become the Chairman of Tata Sons. However, Ratan Tata was not in favour of appointing him, as he believed that Noel ‘lacked the experience’ in running the conglomerate.

The company eventually appointed Cyrus Mistry who also ‘lacked experience’ in running a big business group. Later, he was also ousted from the Tata Group in 2016 after getting embroiled in a bitter boardroom dispute.

In January 2017, Noel again missed the bus to become the Chairman of Tata Sons as he was overlooked by his brother Ratan Tata. Later N Chandrasekaran was entrusted with responsibility, which later saw him heading India’s largest IT firm TCS.

Noel Tata who turned 67 this year will play a crucial role in the affairs of the Tata group. All eyes will be on him in the coming years, as he will be responsible for selecting the next Chairman of Tata Sons in 2028.

Notably, Noel Tata was associated with Tata International Ltd, where he served as the managing director from August 2010 to November 2021. Under his leadership, the company’s turnover increased from $500 million to over $3 billion in a decade.