Noel Naval Tata, 67, has been appointed as the chairman of Tata Trusts, a position that will give him indirect control over the $615 billion conglomerate.

Noel Tata, who is the half-brother of Ratan Tata, was named on Friday as the chairman of all the entities that come under the umbrella of the Tata Trusts.

These include the two primary trusts — Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust — which own more than 50 per cent of Tata Sons, the principal holding company and promoter of Tata companies. In all, there are 13 philanthropic trusts that hold 66 per cent of Tata Sons.

Historically, the chairmen of Tata Trusts have been drawn from the Parsi community. It is also learnt that the community was in favour of putting an individual with a Tata surname as the head of these trusts — and that made Noel Tata the obvious choice. Ahead of his appointment, there was some speculation that Mehli Mistry, a long-time Ratan Tata confidant, was also in the race. But this could not be confirmed.

The trustees of the various Tata Trusts met at a joint meeting in Mumbai and condoled the demise of Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Trusts, and “recalled his yeoman services not only to the Tata Group but also to nation building”, a statement said.

“In separate meetings held immediately thereafter, it was unanimously decided to appoint Mr Noel Naval Tata as the Chairman of the various Trusts that constitute the Tata Trusts and also designate him as Chairman, Tata Trusts,” the statement added.

His appointment is effective immediately, it added. Noel became the 11th chairman of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the sixth chairman of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust.

Commenting on his appointment, Noel Tata said: “I look forward to carrying on the legacy of Mr Ratan N. Tata and the Founders of the Tata Group. Founded more than a century ago, the Tata Trusts are a unique vehicle for undertaking social good.”

“On this solemn occasion, we rededicate ourselves to carrying on our developmental and philanthropic initiatives and continuing to play our part in nation-building,”
he added.

Noel Tata, has been associated with the Tata group for over 40 years is currently the chairman of Trent, Voltas, Tata International and Tata Investment Corporation. He also serves as the vice-chairman of Tata Steel and the Titan Company. In Trent, he was appointed as a non-executive director in August 2010 and thereafter as chairman of the company in March 2014. Before that, he served as the managing director of the company for more than 11 years, helping Trent grow across
all formats.

Although Noel Tata is known for his low-profile nature and unpretentious leadership style, Trent achieved remarkable growth under his direction. It now has various brands that include Westside, Star Bazaar and Zudio. It also has two separate associations with the Inditex group of Spain. While one entity operates Zara stores, the other oversees Massimo Dutti stores in India.

The stock markets have seen the Trent stock spurt by more than 708 per cent since April 2014. Based on Friday’s closing price, Trent has a market valuation of nearly
₹2.93 trillion.

In 2022, the articles of association of Tata Sons were amended to ensure that the chairman of Tata Trusts could not double as the chairman of the group’s holding company. The so-called Chinese wall between the trusts and Tata Sons ensures that no one can wield unfettered control over the Tata group.

Tata Sons is headed by N. Chandrasekaran.

Nole is the son of Naval H. Tata and Simone N. Tata, who had played a significant role in shaping the beauty brand Lakme. Noel is married to Aloo Mistry, sister of the late Cyrus Mistry and a part of the Shapoorji Pallonji family, which is the single-largest private shareholder of Tata Sons with more than an 18.4 per cent holding. It remains to be seen whether his elevation as chairman of the Tata Trusts will improve the relations between the two families that fell out spectacularly in October 2016 after Cyrus Mistry was removed from his position as chairman of Tata Sons.

Noel was once tipped to lead Tata Sons ahead of Ratan Tata giving up his executive responsibilities. The post, however, went to Mistry in 2012.

Noel has three children — Maya, Neville and Leah. Earlier this year, they were appointed as trustees at multiple trusts linked with the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.