Boardroom battle hits Tata Trusts!

New Delhi: Tata Trusts, which exerts decisive influence over India’s most valuable conglomerate through its about 66 per cent stake of Tata Sons, finds itself in the midst of infighting among its trustees over board appointment and governance issues.

Sources said the Trusts is said to be vertically split with one section aligned with Noel Tata, who was appointed chairman of the Trusts following the death of Ratan Tata. The other grouping of four trustees is led by Mehli Mistry, who has ties with the extended Shapoorji Pallonji family, which owns about 18.37 per cent of Tata Sons.

Mehli reportedly feels he has been kept out of the loop on key matters. Sources said the flashpoint is said to be board seats at Tata Sons, which controls the 156-year-old group that spans around 400 companies, including 30 listed firms. The dispute has its roots in a meeting of six trustees of the Tata Trusts, the umbrella group representing several charitable trusts, including the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sri Ratan Tata Trust. The meeting on September 11 was convened to consider the reappointment of former defence secretary Vijay Singh as a nominee director on the Tata Sons board.

There are seven trustees of the Tata Trusts, including Singh. Singh did not attend the September 11 meeting as his nomination was on the agenda. Following the death of Ratan Tata in October 2024, Tata Trusts introduced a policy requiring annual reappointment of nominee directors on the Tata Sons board once they turn 75.