Internal rift sparks as Noel Tata's daughters- Maya, Leah take over key roles in Sir Ratan Tata Industrial Institute board: Report

Maya and Leah Tata, daughters of Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, have been inducted into the board of trustees of the Sir Ratan Tata Industrial Institute (SRTII), a key subset of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, according to a report by the Economic Times. This trust is one of the two principal shareholders of Tata Sons, the group holding company.

The sisters have replaced outgoing trustees Arnaz Kotwal and Freddy Talati, who stepped down to make way for the new appointments. With this move, all three of Noel Tata's children are now represented on the boards of the smaller Tata Trusts, though they have not yet been inducted into the two main trusts—Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Allied Trusts, and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Allied Trusts.

Transition sparks internal rift

The transition has not been without controversy. Outgoing trustee Arnaz Kotwal expressed dissatisfaction with the process in a letter to her fellow trustees, stating that she felt blindsided by the request to resign. Kotwal, currently based in Dubai and working with VFS Global, wrote, “I was saddened that none of you reached out to speak with me directly about this matter,” the report quoted.

Freddy Talati, the other outgoing trustee, is now the Chief Operating Officer of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA).

Strategic appointments

According to an official familiar with the matter, the appointments of Leah and Maya Tata were made to align with SRTII’s ongoing renovation and upgradation plans. The Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), which has the authority to nominate three of the six SRTII board members, emphasized the need for trustees with prior experience in managing SRTII’s affairs and who are based locally in Mumbai.

The board of SRTT, which unanimously approved the appointments, includes Noel Tata, Vijay Singh, Venu Srinivasan, Darius Khambata, Jehangir H. Jehangir, and Mehli Mistry.

The involvement of Maya and Leah Tata, both millennials, is seen as a strategic move to prepare the next generation for larger roles within the Tata Group.

Maya Tata, who began her career at Tata Capital, is currently part of the team managing the Tata Neu app under Tata Digital. Leah Tata, a vice president at Indian Hotels, holds a master’s degree in marketing from IE Business School.