Business: Mehli Mistry, once considered one of Ratan Tata’s closest confidants, may soon depart from Tata Trust. Chairman Noel Tata, Vice Chairman Venu Srinivasan and Trustee Vijay Singh have refused to approve the renewal of his tenure. Due to this there is a possibility of his removal from the post. The dramatic development will effectively end his tenure at Tata’s top charity, sources familiar with the matter said. With three trustees voting against the renewal of his tenure, Mistry’s resignation has become a majority decision in both the trusts where he serves. Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) hold 51% stake in Tata Sons, while the wider group of trusts together holds 66%.
Who is Mehli Mistry?
Mehli Mistry is a cousin of Shapoorji Mistry (and his late brother and former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry). However they have now separated. He is the promoter of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which is the second largest shareholder in Tata Sons after the trusts. According to the group’s website, its company Sterling Motors is a dealer of Tata Motors. The site lists “customers/partners” of Tata Group companies such as Tata Steel, Tata Power and Tata Nike Shipping. He is also a trustee of the Breach Candy Hospital Trust. The hospital has said that the Tata group has given Rs 500 crore to improve the facilities. In 2022 he was promoted as trustee of the Sir Dorabji and Sir Ratan Tata Trusts and gained increased influence over their executive committees. He also worked at RNT Associates and was a beneficiary of Tata’s will.
‘Mistry vs Mistry’ for the sake of friendship with Ratan Tata?
A staunch supporter of Ratan Tata since 2000, Mistry had supported the late Ratan Tata during the Tata-Mistry dispute (Cyrus Mistry affair), despite being Cyrus Mistry’s cousin. After becoming chairman, Cyrus was removed from the post of chairman of Tata Sons in 2016. Mehli’s decision to support Ratan Tata instead of Cyrus also exposed the rift in the Egyptian family. Mehli and Cyrus’s mothers are sisters. Both the engineers are also cousins. Cyrus’s grandfather and Mehli’s grandfather were also brothers. One was a civil contractor and the other was a painting contractor. The families opened branches in different businesses – Shapoorji Pallonji Group Talking about Mehli Mistry’s relationship with Ratan Tata, it started from the time Tata lived in the apartment complex where Mehli’s family lived. A friend of Mehli’s said, “Mehli first met him when he was 10 years old.” A deep friendship developed between the two and they were often seen hanging out together.
What happened in Tata Trust in the month of October?
Today, an irony has come that Mistry is about to be removed from Tata Trusts in the same October month in which his late cousin Cyrus Mistry was removed as chairman of Tata Sons in 2016. Now, the trustees of SDTT are Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh, Mehli Mistry, Pramit Jhaveri and Darius Khambatta. At SRTT, the trustees are Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, Vijay Singh, Jimmy Tata, Jahangir HC Jahangir, Mehli Mistry and Darius Khambatta. Since mechanics cannot vote on their own renewals, the SDTT has a majority vote on decisions. Since Jimmy Tata does not usually participate in the Trust’s deliberations, this is effectively a majority decision in the SRTT as well.
What happened at Tata Trust late Thursday night and Friday morning?
Sources said the three trustees conveyed their decision late Thursday night and early Friday morning. However, trustees Darius Khambata, Pramit Jhaveri and Jahangir Jahangir had already given their consent. Due to lack of consensus, an obstacle has arisen in the way of Mistry’s re-appointment as trustee. The month of October has been one of turmoil for the Tata Group. Before this, the appointment of trustees, like other decisions, had generally been done unanimously. But the trustees broke with tradition on September 11, almost a year after the death of long-serving patriarch Ratan Tata, when they voted by majority decision to remove former Defense Secretary Vijay Singh as a nominee director on the board of Tata Sons. This set off a chain of events and the ongoing dispute within the Atta Trust became public.
