Noel's son, Neville, joins flagship Tata Trust board

MUMBAI: Tata Trusts, which controls India's largest conglomerate, $180-bn Tata Group, has inducted chairman Noel Tata's son, Neville Tata (33), to the board of its flagship Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT).

Speculation over Neville's entry into the Trusts' main entity had been building since Mehli Mistry's exit last month. With Neville's induction, three Tata family members now serve on the boards of two principal 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 3 decades. The move underscores a consolidation of authority under Noel, infusion of younger leadership into trusteeship, and formal rise of Neville within Tata fold. Bhat also named on 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 Centre Trust. In due course, he is expected to join the SRTT board. Once inducted into SRTT, Neville could eventually be nominated to the Tata Sons board. In a brief statement, Tata Trusts said the SDTT board had "unanimously" approved Neville's induction effective Nov 12 for a period of three years.

Trustee appointments require unanimity. Sources said that while SRTT, which also met on Tuesday, discussed Neville's appointment, the proposal did not go through. Alongside Neville, Bhaskar Bhat, a Tata Group veteran, who was on the board of Titan along with Noel for several years, has also been inducted into the board of SDTT, with effect from Wednesday, for a period of three years. With these additions, the board of SDTT 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, London. Married to Manasi Tata, vice-chairperson of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, the couple has two children, Jamset and Tiana Tata. Like his father, Neville is media-shy and low-profile. He is rarely seen at public Tata Group events such as Trent's store launches but has been a regular presence at the conglomerate's annual leadership summits, where senior executives present group strategies and future plans. His elder sisters, Leah (40) and Maya (37), are with 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.