Mehli Mistry Set For Permanent Tata Trusts Seat

Mehli Mistry will be appointed as a permanent trustee of Tata Trusts as the board members for the same try to chalk out changes in leadership a day after the demise of patriarch Ratan Tata, according to people in the know.

Mehli is the estranged first cousin of former Tata Group chairperson, late Cyrus Mistry. A director of the Meherji Pallonji Group, he was appointed as a non-executive trustee of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, its allied Tata Education and Development Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust in November 2022.

The meeting is expected to culminate in Noel Tata, Ratan Tata’s half-brother, being named the chairperson of Tata Trusts, the aforementioned sources told NDTV Profit.

Noel, like Mehli, serves as a trustee on the boards of the two main Tata charities—Sir Ratan Tata Trust, its allied Tata Education and Development Trust, and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. Tata Trusts is the umbrella body that manages functions of all 14 Tata trusts.

Mehli was regarded as a close confidant of Ratan Tata, even after his cousin Cyrus was ousted in 2016, amid allegations of preferential treatment toward Meherji Pallonji Group companies. These claims were never confirmed.

The company has a long-term contract with Tata Power for barging and dredging operations, providing steady cash flows on a consolidated level. Additionally, M Pallonji Logistics Pvt. Ltd., the group's logistics arm, contributes significant revenue through its shipping business. 

Along with Venu Srinivasan and R Venkataramanan Singh, Mehli is part of the executive committee overseeing the functioning of Tata Trusts. He is also the director of the Meher Pallonji Group, which has diverse business interests, including industrial painting, dredging, stevedoring, logistics solutions, shipping, finance, and automobile dealerships.

The Meherji Pallonji Group operates through its flagship company, M Pallonji & Co. Pvt. Ltd., which offers services such as logistics, dredging, and industrial coating. The private firm is directed by Mehli, his brother Pheroze, and their mother, Maki Mistry. The company's clientele includes power generation plants (thermal and hydro), chemical and fertiliser factories, petroleum refineries, and offshore oil and gas platforms.

 Cyrus Mistry, the former chairman of Tata Sons, was killed in a car accident near Mumbai in September 2022. He was the younger son of Pallonji Mistry, founder of the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, and served as chairman of Tata Sons before his sudden ouster in 2016. Ratan Tata himself stepped in as interim chairman following Cyrus’s exit, during which the question of Tata Group’s succession emerged.

Noel Tata, 67, is the son of Naval Tata (Ratan Tata’s father) and Simone Tata. The half-brother is considered the frontrunner to succeed Ratan Tata and already serves on the boards of both the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. Noel currently chairs Trent Ltd., the parent company of mass retailers Westside and Zudio.