Noel Tata takes over from Ratan Tata. Know the lineage and history of the Tata family

Noel Tata takes over as chairman of Tata Trusts from Ratan Tata. They were half brothers.

New Delhi:

Tatas, a brand that has instilled a sense of trust and security for over 150 years, has always experienced a line of succession where the people at the top have set the very highest standards and ethics in the business world. Their personalities cannot be separated from what the brand has evolved into.

Tatas was founded in 1868 and has grown into one of the largest and most diverse global corporations. It's a name heard in almost every household in India and tens of millions abroad.

Ratan Tata, the kind and gracious gentleman industrialist and philanthropist credited with taking the Tata brand to over 100 countries under his leadership, died in a Mumbai hospital earlier this week. His leadership of the Tata giant has left a void that few may or may not be able to fill – only time will tell.

Ratan Tata will be succeeded by his half-brother Noel Tata. Ratan Tata's parents Naval Tata and Soonoo Commissariat divorced when Ratan and his younger brother Jimmy were very young. Years later, her father married Simone Dunoyer and the two had a son, Noel.

Ratan Tata and his half-brother Noel Tata with their father Naval Tata. Noel Tata is 20 years younger than Ratan Tata. (Photo: Facebook/WelcometoJamshedpur)

THE ANCESTORS OF THE TATA FAMILY

Ancestors of the Tata family migrated to India from Persia, now Iran, in the 8th century AD. They were among a large group of Parsis (people from Persia), a Zoroastrian ethnic community who fled persecution during the Islamic conquest of Persia.

According to the Tata Central Archives, the Tatas settled in Navsari in Gujarat and lived there for 25 generations before business took them to Bombay – then the Bombay Presidency under the British Raj. At this time, Bombay Province included the western two-thirds of Maharashtra, northwestern Karnataka, all of Gujarat, all of Sindh (now in Pakistan) and Aden (in present-day Yemen).

The journey of the Tata family business began with Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, who founded a trading company in Bombay in 1868, which today forms the Tata Group. The Tatas have always believed in the concept of country and society – building and uplifting the people and community over personal gains – and from the very beginning, Jamsetji and his two sons – Sir Dorabji Tata and Sir Ratan Tata – have been most of them leave assets and company shares to charitable foundations.

The Tata family moved from Persia to India in the 8th century and settled in Gujarat. Jamsetji Tata founded the company in 1868.

Today there are 14 different trusts run by the Tatas, operating in different sectors, each independent in the nature and area of ​​activity they carry out. However, all of this falls under an umbrella organization called the Tata Trust. Ratan Tata was Chairman of Tata Trusts and Chairman Emeritus of Tata Group. After his death, his half-brother Noel Tata became chairman of Tata Trusts, while Natarajan Chandrasekaran is chairman of Tata Group, of which Tata Trust is the largest shareholder.

NOEL TATA – NEW CHAIRMAN – TATA TRUSTS

Noel Tata was born in December 1957 and is twenty years younger than his half-brother Ratan Tata. He is the son of Naval Tata and Simone Dunoyer, a Franco-Swiss Catholic and businesswoman from Switzerland.

Noel Tata holds a degree from Sussex University (UK) and completed the International Executive Program (IEP) at INSEAD. He is an Indo-Irish businessman and has been appointed Chairman of the Tata Trust. He is married to Aloo Mistry, sister of Cyrus Mistry and granddaughter of Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry. They have three children – Neville, Maya and Leah – all of whom are actively involved in the Tata Group. Leah Tata is Vice President of Indian Hotels Company. While Maya Tata is associated with Tata Capital, Neville Tata is part of Trent and the Star Bazaar leadership team.

Noel Tata's most significant role prior to this new appointment was as Managing Director of Tata International Ltd, the trading and distribution arm of the group. Under his leadership from 2010 to 2021, the company grew from $500 million in revenue to over $3 billion. As managing director of Trent Ltd, the retail arm of Tata, he expanded operations from a single store in 1998 to over 700 stores in various formats.

Until his appointment as Chairman of Tata Trusts, Noel Tata was Chairman of Trent, Tata International Limited, Voltas and Tata Investment Corporation. He is also the 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 account for over 50 percent of Tata Sons' ownership.

Noel Tata is now the sixth chairman of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the 11th chairman of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.