Tata Trusts vice-chairman Vijay Singh exits Tata Sons board

MUMBAI: In an abrupt move, Tata Trusts vice-chairman Vijay Singh (77) has resigned from the board of Tata Sons, a day before the holding company's directors were to meet, and amid an impending RBI-mandated IPO deadline.Two main units of Tata Trusts - Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust - collectively hold approximately 52% in Tata Sons, the parent of the $165-billion Tata Group, which has a diverse portfolio ranging from aviation to automobiles.Singh served as a nominee director of Tata Trusts on Tata Sons board. He will continue to be a trustee of Tata Trusts. The move comes as a surprise since nominee directors of Tata Trusts do not have a retirement age, unlike other directors on Tata Sons board.

For instance, executive, non-executive, and independent directors of Tata Sons retire at the ages of 65, 70, and 75, respectively.However, a resolution by Tata Trusts dated Oct 17, 2024, stipulates that nominated directors on Tata Sons board who reach the age of 75 must be reviewed annually. During Tata Trusts board meeting on Thursday, the nominated directors' ages were reviewed.The majority of the trustees supported the review and the induction of younger individuals onto the Tata Sons board.

The other two nominee directors on Tata Sons board are Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata (69) and vice-chairman Venu Srinivasan (72). Singh declined to comment, when contacted.This was Singh's second stint at Tata Sons board. The former defence secretary was initially appointed to the board in June 2013, but stepped down in July 2018 upon reaching 70 years. At that time, the retirement age for Tata Trusts nominees was 70.He was reappointed to the board in Feb 2022 at the age of 74. This was possible as former Tata Trusts chairman Ratan Tata had introduced an unspecified retirement age for nominated directors.Tata Sons and Tata Trusts have been using retirement age as a tool to either extend or end the term of a board member at the company. For instance, in the past, the retirement age for non-executive directors was revised to 75 from 70, which had allowed Ratan Tata to continue as chairman of Tata Sons until that age. Singh earned Rs 3.2 crore as commission from Tata Sons in FY25. Singh's departure, along with the recent end of tenures of two other Tata Sons directors - former JLR CEO Ralf Speth and Piramal Enterprises boss Ajay Piramal - opens up opportunities for new members. These changes have left Tata Sons board with six members. According to Tata Sons' articles of association, Tata Trusts can nominate one-third of the directors.

However, this requirement (two of six board seats) is currently fulfilled by Noel and Srinivasan.The development occurs as Tata Sons' board is scheduled to meet on Friday, with the looming RBI-mandated IPO deadline for both the company and its subsidiary Tata Capital approaching by the end of this month. Tata Capital has sought a short extension for the launch of its $1.9-billion IPO from the RBI, while Tata Sons has applied to RBI to surrender its core investment company registration to avoid the IPO. Tata Capital intends to launch the IPO in the first half of Oct, which will make it the largest in the country.