Noel Tata has been appointed the chairman of Tata Trusts, the philanthropic arm of the Tata Group, following the death of Ratan Tata, on Wednesday night. Tata Trusts is the umbrella body managing the functions of all 14 Tata Trust.
Here are 10 things to know about Noel Tata:
Born in December 1957 to Noel Tata and Simone N Tata, a French-Swiss Catholic, Noel Tata is the half-brother of Ratan Tata.
He holds a degree from Sussex University (UK) and has completed the International Executive Programme (IEP) at INSEAD.
Noel Tata is married to Aloo Mistry and together they have three children - Leah, Maya and Neville Tata – all actively involved in the family business. Leah Tata is the Vice President at the Indian Hotels Company. While Maya Tata is associated with Tata Capital, Neville Tata is part of Trent and leadership team at Star Bazaar.
Noel Tata's most prominent role before this new appointment was as Managing Director of Tata International Ltd, the group's trading and distribution arm.
Under his leadership from 2010 to 2021, the company grew from a turnover of $500 million to over $3 billion, proving his ability to drive growth in a highly competitive environment.
As Managing Director of Trent Ltd, Tata's retail arm, he expanded its operations from a single store in 1998 to over 700 stores across various formats.
Currently, Noel Tata is the chairman of Trent, Tata International Limited, Voltas and Tata Investment Corporation. He is also vice chairman of Tata Steel and Titan Company Limited.
He also serves as a trustee on the board of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, which together comprise over 50 percent of the ownership of Tata Sons. These two trusts are the administrative wings and can mutually appoint people to Tata Trust.
With this, Noel Tata has become the sixth chairman of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and 11th chairman of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.
Noel Tata was previously considered a potential candidate for the chairmanship of Tata Sons but the reins of the were handed over to Cyrus Mistry, Noel's brother-in-law. However, following Mistry's controversial exit, N Chandrasekaran, the then chief of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), became the chairman of Tata Sons.
