Cyrus P. Mistry (43) will be crowned chairman of Tata Sons – and king of the Tata empire – when Ratan N Tata formally retires in December 2012 on reaching the age of 75.
Considered a dark horse, Mr. Mistry is at present Managing Director of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. He is also on the board of Tata Sons, the holding company which controls the Tata Group.
One of India's largest conglomerates with interests in diverse sectors such as telecom, automobile, engineering and hotels, the group is worth more than $70 billion dollars. Mr. Ratan Tata has been its chairman since 1991.
Mr. Mistry is the youngest son of construction tycoon Pallonji Mistry, who also owns a significant stake in the group.
The naming of Mr. Mistry ends months of intense media speculation ever since a five-member search panel was constituted in the middle of last year to spot a successor. A unanimous choice of the committee, Mr. Mistry pipped to the post Noel Tata, younger half-brother of Mr. Ratan Tata, long considered a favourite.
The transition process has been set in motion with the appointment of Mr. Mistry as the Deputy Chairman of Tata Sons at a meeting of its Board of Directors in Mumbai on Wednesday. Mr. Mistry has been on the board of Tata Sons since August 2006.
In the next one year, Mr. Mistry will work as an understudy of Mr. Tata, before eventually taking over from him when the latter retires.
Reacting to his nomination, Mr. Mistry said, “I feel deeply honoured by this appointment. I am aware that an enormous responsibility, with a great legacy, has been entrusted to me. I look forward to Mr. Tata's guidance in the year ahead in meeting the expectations of the group.''
Mr. Mistry is a graduate of civil engineering from Imperial College of London, and has a Master of Science in Management from the London Business School.
“The appointment of Mr. Cyrus P Mistry as Deputy Chairman of Tata Sons is a good and far-sighted choice. He has been on the board of Tata Sons since August 2006. I have been impressed with the quality and calibre of his participation, his astute observations and his humility. He is intelligent and qualified to take on the responsibility being offered,'' a release quoted Mr. Ratan Tata as saying.
The caption for the photograph accompanying this report was corrected for a factual error
Keywords: Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata, Cyrus P. Mistry, successor
The great legacy of TATA's will ensure that Cyrus P. Mistry crowned chairman of Tata Sons – and king of the Tata empire, at an young age, turns out to be another TATA. That is the greatness of the name "TATA".
Ratan deserves a great deal of appreciation in picking up the right man full of energy to lead the great industrial Empire.
Hope the new sucessor will take the company and country to higher glory. The name TATA was recently mired in Radia tapes and needed intervention of Ratan Tata to prevent more tapes from going public. Something to hide which is shameful? Wish Mr Mistry all the best and request him to play the game by the rules.
A typical example of "Much Ado about Nothing". Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry, the biggest shareholder in Tata Sons has preferred the son over the son-in-law.
Clearly, the media missed reading the signs, and credit to the Tatas in ensuring that this information did not find its way into the media. The media clearly did not guess that Cyrus Mistry would be the choice. They did not know he was in the race, for all the speculation. So, much for all the media guessing and hype. Only time will tell if Cyrus Mistry is the right choice. It depends on how he leads Tata Empire, and catapults it to the International league of a true Indian MNC. The Tata Group must thank Ratan Tata for his effective and affable leadership, and for preserving the integrity of the group, despite the slip up in the 2G scam towards the final lap of stewardship.
We Indian's had a feeling of TATA as an Indian brand. If the chairman is someone who give up his Indian citisenship, then the feeling of National brand is gone. This will affact the group as the employees in the group will not feel the same ownership to the group which they had previously.
There was real suspense for more than one year on this selection to the biggest professional business house of India. The business house of Tatas have created a great Image since it' s formation. late JRD TATA faithfully implemented the noble philosophy Of Jamshedji tata, and after his demise,the current chairman took over and justified his role throughout his tenure. Mr RAtan tata projected the image of the tata empire at the inter-National level by acquisitions, and the Tata sons is now rated as the best professional Organization in India. Foreign universities conferred doctorate to the present chairman for his professionalism in the management field. ToMR. Mistry it is a great honor. MR RATTAN TATA IS handing over a great legacy to the young chairman in waiting. He Should continue the great legacy.
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