Noel’s son Neville will join the flagship board of Tata Trust – The Times of India

MUMBAI: Tata Trusts, which controls India’s largest conglomerate, the $180 billion Tata Group, has included chairman Noel Tata’s son Neville Tata (33) on the board of its flagship Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT). Speculation over Neville’s entry into the Trusts’ main entity had increased since Mehli Mistry’s departure last month. With Neville’s introduction, three members of the Tata family now sit on the boards of two major trusts, including Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), reports Reeba Zachariah. Noel’s half-brother, Jimmy Tata, has been a trustee of SRTT for more than thirty years. The move underlines a consolidation of authority under Noel, the infusion of younger leadership into the trusteeship and Neville’s formal rise within the Tata group. Bhat was also mentioned in the trust board Neville currently sits on the boards of smaller Tata Trusts such as the JRD Tata Trust, RD Tata Trust, Tata Social Welfare Trust and Tata Medical Center Trust. He is expected to join the SRTT board in due course. Once inducted into SRTT, Neville could eventually be nominated to the board of Tata Sons. In a brief statement, Tata Trusts said the SDTT board had “unanimously” approved Neville’s appointment for a period of three years with effect from November 12. Appointments of trustees require unanimity. Sources said although SRTT, which also met on Tuesday, discussed Marcel’s appointment, the proposal did not go ahead. In addition to Neville, Tata Group veteran Bhaskar Bhat, who served on Titan’s board for a number of years with Noel, has also been appointed to the SDTT board for a period of three years with effect from Wednesday. With these additions, SDTT’s board has expanded to seven trustees. Noel is the only person from SDTT who is currently a permanent trustee. Neville, the youngest of Noel’s three children, has been associated with Trent, founded by his grandmother Simone Tata and chaired by his father, since completing his studies at Bayes Business School in London. Married to Manasi Tata, vice chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, the couple has two children, Jamset and Tiana Tata. Like his father, Marcel is media-shy and inconspicuous. He is rarely seen at public Tata Group events such as Trent’s store launches, but has been a regular at the conglomerate’s annual leadership summits, where senior executives present group strategies and future plans. His elder sisters, Leah (40) and Maya (37), work at Indian Hotels (Taj) and Tata Digital respectively. Both also serve on the boards of smaller Tata trusts, including the Tata Education Trust and Sarvajanik Seva Trust.