Who was Cyrus Mistry?
While his surname may not have been Tata, but Cyrus Mistry is as close as an outsider could come and was announced in 2011 as the heir apparent to Ratan Tata, the group’s long-standing chairman, to lead one of India’s most storied business groups. According to Reuters report, a five-man selection team - which included Mistry himself - spent 15 months searching for a successor to Ratan Tata.
Notably, Cyrus Mistry’s grandfather first bought shares in Tata Sons in the 1930s, a stake that currently stands at 18.5% in the hands of Mistry’s father, Pallonji Mistry, the largest single shareholder in a firm mostly controlled by trusts, the Reuters report noted. Cyrus Mistry was the brother-in-law to Noel Tata, Ratan Tata’s half-brother. Mistry’s father, a reclusive billionaire with an estimated wealth of $7.6 billion according to Forbes, paved the way for his younger son’s ascendancy to the top of a group founded by Ratan Tata’s great-grandfather, the Reuters report said.
“I have been impressed with the quality and calibre of his participation, his astute observations and his humility," Ratan Tata was quoted as saying in a statement back in 2011. Cyrus Mistry reportedly received unanimous backing from the selection committee and went on to become Tata’s deputy chairman and work alongside Ratan Tata.
It is important to note that earlier this year in May, the Supreme Court had dismissed the review petition by Cyrus Mistry in the Tata versus Mistry legal case. The Supreme Court dismissed SP group's plea seeking review of 2021 verdict upholding removal of Cyrus Mistry as head of Tata Sons. A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, however, ordered the deletion of certain remarks made against Cyrus Mistry in the March 2021 verdict.
(With inputs from PTI, Reuters)
