Boardroom Turmoil at Tata Group: Trustee Removal Signals New Era in India's Largest Conglomerate

The trustees cast their votes against the reappointment of Vice Chairman Vijay Singh to the board of Tata Sons

A trustee of Tata Group's charitable foundation has described the decision to remove him from the board of the $180-billion business empire as "unprecedented" and indicative of a "different era," marking the most significant boardroom conflict in India's corporate landscape in recent years.

The internal discord at Tata Trusts, emerging just one year after the passing of family patriarch Ratan Tata, has sparked concerns about a potential repeat of the acrimonious public dispute between the charity and Tata Sons that occurred in 2016, which damaged the reputation of India's most esteemed conglomerate.

Tata Trusts holds a controlling 66% stake in Tata Sons, which oversees 30 companies across various sectors from consumer goods to airlines, including global brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Consultancy Services, and Tata Motors.

The recent disagreement centers on several key issues: the selection of trustees for the Tata Sons board, the overall business direction of the group, and strategies for managing the planned exit of minority shareholder Shapoorji Pallonji, according to Reuters reports.

In September, the trustees voted against reappointing Vice Chairman Vijay Singh to the Tata Sons board, revealing a power struggle among senior members of the influential charity arm currently led by Ratan Tata's half-brother Noel Tata.

"The practice of voting on any matter in Tata Trusts is unprecedented," Singh told the Indian Express newspaper in a rare public statement from an insider at an organization that has traditionally maintained a low profile.

"Ratan Tata was adamant that decisions should always be reached by consensus and unanimity... perhaps we have now entered a different era."

Singh added that four trustees opposed his continued presence on the Tata Sons board for reasons that apparently remained unstated.

Both Tata Trusts and Tata Sons have maintained silence on the matter and did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment on Friday. Singh likewise did not respond to text messages.

In an unusual development, two senior Indian ministers intervened this week, urging Tata Trusts to resolve its internal boardroom disputes.

According to a source with direct knowledge of the situation at Tata Trusts, the charitable organization is divided into two opposing factions disagreeing on numerous issues, one led by Chairman Noel Tata and the other by trustee Mehli Mistry.

The source spoke anonymously due to the confidential nature of the matter. The specific positions of each faction on the contested issues remain unclear.

Mehli Mistry is a cousin of the late Cyrus Mistry, a former Tata Sons chairman who died in 2022. Their family business Shapoorji Pallonji maintains an 18% stake in Tata Sons.