Cyrus Pallonji Mistry, the sixth chairman of the Tata Group and only the second (after Nowroji Saklatwala) not to bear the surname Tata, has been honoured In Memoriam Award at the 18th edition of CNBC TV18's India Business Leader Awards ceremony on May 11, 2023.
Cyrus Mistry's wife Rohiqa Cyrus Mistry, while accepting the award, said, "On behalf of our family, I would like to thanks CNBC TV18 for honouring Cyrus with this. As most of you know, Cyrus chose to stay away from limelight, preferring to have his actions and his work speak on his behalf. Well his journey was tragically cut short, his life inspired many. We will work hard to carry this forward. Once again I thankyou for this honour."
The Indian-born Irish businessman was the chairman of the Tata Group, an Indian business conglomerate, from 2012 to 2016. In mid-2012, he was chosen by a selection panel to head the Tata Group and took charge in December of that year.
In October 2016, the board of Tata Group’s holding company, Tata Sons, voted to remove Mistry from the post of chairman. Former chairman Ratan Tata then returned as interim chairman, and Natarajan Chandrasekaran was named as the new chairman a few months later.
However, in December 2019, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (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 has filed a cross-appeal in the court, seeking explanations for anomalies in the NCLAT. However, the Supreme Court upheld his dismissal.
Mistry owned an 18.4 percent stake in Tata Sons through his company Cyrus Investments Pvt. Ltd. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Mistry had a net worth of nearly $29 billion at the time of his death, making him one of the richest men in India.
Of Irish descent, Cyrus Mistry was born on 4 July 1968 to a Parsi family in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, the younger son of Indian billionaire and construction magnate Pallonji Mistry by his wife Patsy Perin Dubash.
He completed his schooling at Mumbai's Cathedral And John Connon School. He went on to earn a degree in Civil Engineering from London's Imperial College, and a degree in management from London Business School.
Both his parents belong to the Zoroastrian faith and have roots in India. However, Mistry’s mother was born in Ireland and his father chose to take up Irish citizenship.
Mistry 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 were cited by the forensic investigation team as the cause of the crash.
Tributes have poured in for Cyrus Mistry after his death. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Mistry’s sudden death “a big loss to the world of commerce and industry”. “He was a promising business leader who believed in India’s economic prowess,” he tweeted. Several other ministers and political leaders also tweeted their condolences to Mistry’s family.
(Edited by : Vivek Dubey)
