Noel Tata has been included in the board of Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group. This appointment has been given to him as a nominated member of Tata Trusts. After the death of Ratan Tata last month, he was made the chairman of Tata Trusts. According to sources, an online resolution was passed in this regard in a virtual meeting of Tata Sons on the eve of Diwali. Noel is also active on the boards of other companies of the Tata Group. Since 2011, he will be the first member of the Tata family to join the boards of both Tata Trusts and Tata Sons simultaneously. It is noteworthy that Tata Trusts holds a 66% stake in Tata Sons.
With 67-year-old Noel Tata joining the board, Tata Sons now has three nominee directors of Tata Trusts, including TVS chairman emeritus Venu Srinivasan and former defence ministry bureaucrat Vijay Singh. Noel Tata, Singh, Srinivasan and Mehli Mistry are currently part of the executive committee that governs Tata Trusts. Tata Sons is yet to comment on the appointment.
Board of Tata Sons
According to the Articles of Association of Tata Sons, Tata Trusts can nominate one-third of the directors on the board. Currently, there are nine directors on the Tata Sons board. These include two executive directors including chairman N Chandrasekaran, three non-executive directors including Noel Tata, Srinivasan and Singh, and four independent directors.
According to sources, Noel Tata met Chandrasekaran after the appointment. Noel Tata currently serves as non-executive director and chairman of Tata Investment Corp, Trent and Voltas. He also holds the post of vice-chairman and non-executive director in Titan and Tata Steel. Ratan Tata was the chairman of Tata Trusts and chairman emeritus of Tata Sons. In 2022, the Tata Sons board amended its AOA to ensure that the same person does not head both.
Retirement age
Noel Tata had given up his executive role in the group companies at the age of 65. Retirement is mandatory at this age in the group. It is also mandatory for executives to leave all board positions at the age of 70. However, there is no retirement age for trustees or chairman. Experts close to the group said that there are no legal problems in Noel Tata continuing as the chairman of the group companies as it is a non-executive role.
In April 2014, Noel became the chairman of Tata Group’s retail division Trent. He replaced FH Kavarna. Under his leadership, the revenue of the group’s retail chain grew by 430% from Rs 2,333 crore in FY 2014 to Rs 12,375 crore in FY 2024. During this period, the company recovered from a loss of Rs 19 crore to a profit of Rs 1,477 crore.
Performance of companies
Noel Tata took over as the chairman of Voltas in August 2017. Since then, the company’s revenue has doubled from Rs 6,404 crore in FY 2017 to Rs 12,481 crore in FY 2024. The company’s stock has grown by almost 300% since August 2017. Tata Investment Corp is mainly engaged in investing in listed and non-listed equity shares. The company’s stock has given a return of 705% in the last five years. Nifty has given a return of 102% during this period.