The low-profile and reticent Mistry, to the extent of being reclusive, was removed as chairman of Tata Sons on Monday, in a move that is likely to open a series of boardroom fights and legal battles.
From a dazzling ascent in 2012 to head the salt-to-software Tata Group to an unceremonious exit now, Cyrus P Mistry took a little less than four years.
The low-profile and reticent Mistry, to the extent of being reclusive, was removed as chairman of Tata Sons on Monday, in a move that is likely to open a series of boardroom fights and legal battles.
The brief communique from Tata Group named his predecessor Ratan N Tata as interim chairman. It said the board has constituted a selection committee to choose a new chairman, and given four months to complete the selection process, said the statement.
The communique didn't have the customary word of appreciation for the chairman who served for four years, since his elevation in December, 2012.
While Tata Group refused to cite any reasons, the differences that were building up between him and other board members believed to have nailed him. The board was apparently upset with Mistry's move to sell unprofitable businesses, including Tata Steel.
"We are in a shock. We never expected the Tata Sons board to take such a drastic step. Four years is such a brief period to show performance," said a source close to Bombay House, the headquarters of the 148-year-old conglomerate, in Mumbai.
The 48-year-old Mistry joined the board in 2006 and was Ratan Tata's choice to succeed him when he retired in December 2012.
Mistry's father, Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry, owns 18.5 per cent of Tata Sons, making him the biggest single shareholder of a company whose two-third stake is owned by trusts. His sister Aloo is married to Ratan Tata's half-brother, Noel.
In a letter to Tata employees, Ratan Tata said the board has replaced Mistry as chairman with immediate effect. "In the interim, the board has requested me to perform the role of the chairman and I have agreed to do so in the interest of stability of and reassurance of the Tata group," he said.
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