Cyrus Mistry
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (4 July 1968 – 4 September 2022) was an Indian-born Irish billionaire businessman. He was the chairman of the
Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate group of companies headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest business conglomerate, with products and services in over 160 countries, and operations in 100 c ...
, an Indian business conglomerate, from 2012 to 2016. He was the sixth chairman of the group, and only the second (after
Nowroji Saklatwala Sir Nowroji Saklatwala, (also spelt Saklatvala; 10 September 1875 – 21 July 1938) was an Indian businessman who was the third chairman of the Tata Group from 1932 till his sudden death in 1938. He was born in Bombay into a Parsi family, the ...
) not to bear the surname ''Tata''. In mid-2012, he was chosen by a selection panel to head the Tata Group and took charge in December that year. In October 2016, the board of Tata Group's holding company,
Tata Sons Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. is the holding company of the Tata Group, headquartered in Mumbai. It owns the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants, and derives its reve ...
, voted to remove Mistry from the post of chairman. Former chairman
Ratan Tata Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012 and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to Feb ...
then returned as interim chairman, and
Natarajan Chandrasekaran Natarajan Chandrasekaran (born 2 June 1963) is an Indian businessman, and the chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group. He was chief operating officer (COO) and executive director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where in 2009, he became chief ...
was named as the new chairman a few months later. However, in December 2019, the
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) is a tribunal which was formed by the Central Government of India under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013. The NCLAT was formed as a body with an appellate jurisdiction at the same time wh ...
(NCLAT) declared the appointment of Chandrasekaran as executive chairman illegal, and restored Mistry. However, the Supreme Court stayed NCLAT's order on 10 January 2020. Mistry had filed a cross-appeal in the court, seeking explanations for anomalies in the NCLAT. However, the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
upheld his dismissal. He owned an 18.4% stake in
Tata Sons Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. is the holding company of the Tata Group, headquartered in Mumbai. It owns the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants, and derives its reve ...
, through his company, Cyrus Investments Pvt. Ltd. According to the
Bloomberg Billionaires Index The ''Bloomberg Billionaires Index'', launched in March 2012, is a daily ranking of the world's 500 richest people based on their net worth. It features a profile of each billionaire, and includes a tool that allows users to compare the fortunes o ...
, Mistry had a net worth of nearly $29 billion at the time of his death, making him one of the richest men in India. He was a member of the
National Integration Council The National Integration Council (NIC) is a group of senior politicians and public figures in India that looks for ways to address the problems of Communalism (South Asia), communalism, Caste system in India, casteism and regionalism. Council me ...
. He died in a road crash on 4 September 2022 on the Ahmedabad–Mumbai highway. Bad road design near the bridge at the spot of the crash and occupants not wearing seat belts was cited by the forensic investigation team as the cause of the crash.


Early life and education

Mistry was born on 4 July 1968 to a
Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...
family in
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
(now Mumbai),
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
, the younger son of Indian billionaire and construction magnate
Pallonji Mistry Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (1 June 1929 – 28 June 2022) was an Irish billionaire businessman of Indian descent. He was chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and a major shareholder of India's largest private conglomerate, Tata Group. Earl ...
by his wife Patsy Perin Dubash. Both his parents belong to the
Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...
faith and have roots in India. However, Mistry's mother was born in Ireland, and his father chose to take up Irish citizenship. Mistry had an elder brother, Shapoor Mistry, who is also an Irish citizen, and is married to Behroze Sethna, the daughter of Parsi lawyer Rusi Sethna. Mistry also has two sisters, Laila and Aloo. Laila is married to Rustom Jehangir, a London-based portfolio fund manager. Aloo is married to
Noel Tata Noel Naval Tata (born 1957) is an Irish businessman. He is the chairman of the Tata Trusts, Trent and Tata Investment Corporation, the managing director of Tata International, and the vice chairman of Titan Company and Tata Steel. On 11 Oc ...
, the half-Indian-Parsi, half-French-Catholic half-brother of
Ratan Tata Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012 and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to Feb ...
. The Pallonji family have been active in business for over a century, and it was in the 1930s that Mistry's grandfather,
Shapoorji Mistry Shapoorji Mistry was an Indian businessman, and the founder of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. He is the father of Pallonji Mistry. Shapoorji Mistry's grandson Cyrus Mistry was the Chairman of Tata Sons. The Shapoorji Pallonji Group is one of ...
, first acquired a stake in Tata Sons. The stake, which now stands at 18.5%, was held by Mistry's father, and comprises the largest block of shares held by a single party; some 66% stake in Tata Sons is controlled by charitable trusts set up by the Tata family. Mistry grew up in affluent circumstances. Mistry was educated at the prestigious
Cathedral & John Connon School The Cathedral and John Connon School is a co-educational private school founded in 1860 and located in Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra.South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahalaxmi (Western side), Byculla ...
. He studied at
Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...
and was awarded a
Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...
in civil engineering from the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
in 1990. He later studied at
London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degree, Master's degrees in management and finance, Master of B ...
and was awarded International Executive Masters in management from the University of London in 1996.


Career

Mistry joined the family construction company, Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Ltd as a director in 1991. He is credited with the turnaround of the struggling
Afcons Infrastructure Afcons Infrastructure Limited is an Indian multinational construction and engineering company based in Mumbai. The company is involved in infrastructure EPC projects such as bridges, flyovers, metros, railway lines, tunnels, highways, ports a ...
in the years after its acquisition by Shapoorji Pallonji Group in 2000. Mistry had been managing director of Shapoorji Pallonji & Company, which is part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. He later became chairman of
Tata Sons Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. is the holding company of the Tata Group, headquartered in Mumbai. It owns the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants, and derives its reve ...
and the
Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate group of companies headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest business conglomerate, with products and services in over 160 countries, and operations in 100 c ...
. In a 2013 article, ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' called him as "the most important industrialist in both India and Britain." In 2018, his net worth was approximately US$10 billion.


Tata Sons

Mistry joined the board of Tata Sons on 1 September 2006, a year after his father retired from it. He was a director of
Tata Elxsi The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate group of companies headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest business conglomerate, with products and services in over 160 countries, and operations in 100 ...
Limited, from September 1990 to October 2009, and a director of Tata Power Co. Ltd until September 2006. In 2013, Mistry was appointed the chairman of Tata Sons. In addition, he was also chairman of all major Tata companies including Tata Industries,
Tata Steel Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, with its primary operations based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group. Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel ...
,
Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company, headquartered in Mumbai and part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, cars, trucks, vans, and busses, buses. T ...
,
Tata Consultancy Services Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in information technology services and consulting. Headquartered in Mumbai, it is a part of the Tata Group and operates in 150 ...
,
Tata Power Tata Power Company Limited is an Indian electric utility and electricity generation company based in Mumbai, India and is part of the Tata Group. With an installed electricity generation capacity of 14,707 MW out of which 5847 MW is from Non-C ...
,
Tata Teleservices Tata Teleservices Limited along with its subsidiary Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited is an Indian internet services provider and IT services company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It is listed on BSE and NSE in India. History On 13 ...
, Indian Hotels,
Tata Global Beverages Tata Consumer Products Limited is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company and a part of the Tata Group. Its registered office is located in Kolkata while its corporate headquarters is in Mumbai. It is the world's second-largest manufacture ...
and
Tata Chemicals Tata Chemicals Limited is an Indian multinational corporation with interests in chemicals, crop protection and specialty chemistry products. The company is headquartered in Mumbai and has operations across India, Europe, North America and Afric ...
. The Tata Sons board voted to remove Mistry from the chairmanship of Tata Sons in October 2016.


2018 NCLT verdict

In July 2018, the
National Company Law Tribunal The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is a quasi-judicial body in India that adjudicates issues relating to Indian companies. The tribunal, established under the Companies Act 2013, was constituted on 1 June 2016 by the government of India a ...
(NCLT), which "adjudicates issues relating to Indian companies," issued a verdict in favour of Tata Sons on charges of mismanagement levelled by Mistry in 2016, two months following his ousting as chairman, through a
vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
. On 10 July, Mistry stated that he would appeal the decision.


2019 NCLAT verdict

In December 2019, the
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) is a tribunal which was formed by the Central Government of India under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013. The NCLAT was formed as a body with an appellate jurisdiction at the same time wh ...
reinstated Mistry as the chairperson for Tata Sons for his remaining term, and declared that the appointment of TCS CEO
Natarajan Chandrasekaran Natarajan Chandrasekaran (born 2 June 1963) is an Indian businessman, and the chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group. He was chief operating officer (COO) and executive director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where in 2009, he became chief ...
as executive chairman of Tata Sons was illegal. In January 2020, Tata Sons appealed to the Supreme Court against NCLAT's decision. Cyrus Mistry announced that he will not return to the Chairmanship of the conglomerate, but is interested in reserving his seat in the company's board. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant stayed NCLAT's order while hearing Tata Sons' appeal on 10 January 2020. The bench stated, "We find there are lacunae in the judicial orders passed by the NCLAT." The
Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...
also ordered that Tata Sons will not exercise power under Article 25 of the Company Law for pushing out shares of minority holders in the company.


Personal life

Mistry was married to Rohiqa Chagla, the daughter of lawyer Iqbal Chagla and granddaughter of jurist
M.C. Chagla Mahommedali Currim Chagla (30 September 1900 – 9 February 1981) was an Indian jurist, diplomat, and Cabinet Minister who served as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court from 1947 to 1958. Early life and education Born on 30 September 19 ...
. Iqbal Chagla has strategised the course of action for Cyrus Mistry in the legal battle against The Tata Sons. The couple has two sons, Firoz Mistry and Zahan Mistry. Mistry was an Irish citizen and a permanent resident of India (having acquired
Overseas Citizenship of India Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is a form of permanent residency available to people of Indian origin which allows them to live and work in India indefinitely. It allows the cardholders a lifetime entry to the country along with benefits suc ...
). According to a news report in an Irish newspaper, ''The Independent'', Mistry viewed himself as a global citizen. His father,
Pallonji Mistry Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (1 June 1929 – 28 June 2022) was an Irish billionaire businessman of Indian descent. He was chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and a major shareholder of India's largest private conglomerate, Tata Group. Earl ...
, died on 28 June 2022.


Death

On 4 September 2022, Mistry and three members of the Pandole family visited the Iranshah Atash Behram at Udvada. The
Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...
high priest Khurshed Dastoor said the group had visited to offer prayers following the death of Dinshaw Pandole and
Pallonji Mistry Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (1 June 1929 – 28 June 2022) was an Irish billionaire businessman of Indian descent. He was chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and a major shareholder of India's largest private conglomerate, Tata Group. Earl ...
. While returning from Udvada to Mumbai, the Mercedes-Benz GLC#First generation (X253/C253; 2015), Mercedes-Benz GLC in which they were travelling crashed at a speed of into a road divider on a bridge on the National Highway 8 (India, old numbering), Ahmedabad - Mumbai, National Highway 8 over Surya River (India), Surya River near Charoti in the Palghar district. Cyrus Mistry and Jehangir Pandole, who were sitting at the back seat without wearing their seat belts, were killed instantly when they hit the back of the car's front seats. Mistry received a severe head trauma along with multiple fractures in chest, head region, thigh and neck. Multiple injuries to vital organs lead to the death of Mistry and Pandole. The driver, Dr. Anahita Pandole, and her husband Darius Pandole in the front row passenger seat, were wearing seat belts and survived with injuries.


Investigation

A seven-member forensic investigation team investigated the cause of the crash and reached the conclusion that the car crash was caused by the "faulty design" of the bridge and the death of the occupants had occurred as they were not wearing seat belts. The team member said, "We have concluded that there was an infrastructure issue that led to the crash. The bridge parapet wall was found to be protruding into the shoulder lane. The design has been found to be faulty." A three laned road abruptly changed to a two lane road with an L-shaped concrete divider. The concrete divider was up-to knee height and was not painted appropriately. The spot lacks road warnings and several crashes had occurred at the same spot in the past. Mistry's car had hit a divider at a spot with faulty road design. His death initiated a debate on the inconsistent road design and wearing of seatbelt by rear seat passengers. Union government announced that it will start penalising rear seat passengers with a fine of ₹ 1,000 if they were found not wearing seat belts.


References


External links


Profile
at
Tata Sons Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. is the holding company of the Tata Group, headquartered in Mumbai. It owns the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants, and derives its reve ...

Profile
at BBC News
Pictures of the accident spot

Video showing the car after the accident
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mistry, Cyrus 1968 births 2022 deaths Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Imperial College London Alumni of London Business School Cathedral and John Connon School alumni Indian emigrants to Ireland Irish chief executives Irish expatriates in India Irish people of Indian descent Naturalised citizens of Ireland Parsi people from Mumbai Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in trade and industry Tata Group people Irish Zoroastrians Parsi people Mistry family, Cyrus Shapoorji Pallonji Group Road incident deaths in India 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people People with Overseas Citizenship of India