Taking the reins: Approval for Noel Tata to join Tata Sons board

Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata will be on the board of Tata Sons, the holding company of the $165 billion salt-to-software group, according to a source in the know. A meeting of Tata Trusts on Thursday is learnt to have discussed a range of issues including Noel Tata being part of the Tata Sons board.

The trustees unanimously selected Noel, 67, as their third nominee on the Tata Sons board, another source confirmed. At present, Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus of TVS Motor Company, and Vijay Singh, a former bureaucrat, represent the trusts on the board of Tata Sons.

When contacted, the Tata Trusts spokesperson did not comment on the matter.
 

The Tata Sons board is expected to endorse the appointment of Noel Tata soon, it is learnt.

 

The Tata Sons articles of association was amended in 2022 to ensure that the chairman of Tata Trusts and that of Tata Sons cannot be the same person. N Chandrasekaran has served as the Tata Sons chairman since 2017, after Cyrus Mistry was removed from the post the previous year.  

Ratan Tata, who passed away on October 9,  was the last member of the Tata family to hold the position of both chairman of Tata Sons and that of Tata Trusts. After retiring in December 2012 as Tata Sons chairman, he continued as Tata Trusts chairman.

In addition to the Tata Trusts nominees and Chandrasekaran, the Tata Sons board of directors includes Ajay Piramal, Harish Manwani, Ralf Speth, Leo Puri, Anita George, and Saurabh Agrawal.
 

Tata Trusts, which can have three nominees on the Tata Sons board, owns 66 per cent stake in the holding company and enjoys veto rights. Tata Sons, in turn, holds stakes in various Tata group companies.
 

Noel is chairman of several Tata group companies including Trent, Tata Investment Corporation and Voltas. He’s also vice-chairman of Tata Steel.
 

Retail firm Trent has performed well under Noel. The company’s share price surged by 6,000 per cent in the last 10 years. As of Thursday, Trent’s total market valuation was Rs 2.74 trillion with Tata Sons owning 37 per cent stake in the company.
 

Reserve Bank of India had classified Tata Sons as an upper-layer non-banking financial company (NBFC). However, the company has fully prepaid its debt to banks in the financial year  2024 and has applied to the RBI to de-classify itself from the 

NBFC tag.
 

In a report, CreditSights, a Singapore-based Fitch Group firm, welcomed the smooth leadership transition to an experienced Tata family member, saying this would continue to retain investor confidence in the Tata group. “We expect continuity in Tata Sons’ policies and strategies, including prudent capital allocation, disciplined leverage management, and strong corporate governance practices. We also expect Tata Sons to continue maintaining strong linkages with key Tata entities including Tata Steel,” it said earlier this week.