Tata Sons rejig: 5 things to know about Cyrus Mistry

New Delhi: In a dramatic development that took the corporates and others by surprise, Cyrus Mistry was on Monday sacked as Chairman of Tata Sons and was replaced by Ratan Tata, from whom he had taken over the reins of the over USD 100 billion salt-to-software conglomerate four years ago. The surprise announcement came after the Board of Tata Sons met here and decided to replace 48-year-old Mistry and appoint Ratan Tata, 78, as interim head. Let’s look at Cyrus Mistry's profile below:

• Cyrus Pallonji Mistry, belonging to Parsi community, was born on July 4, 1968. He is the scion of a prosperous business family in Mumbai.  He was also recognized by Forbes as the “richest person of Parsi descent”.

  Cyrus Mistry greets shareholders prior to the start of the 9th Annual General Meeting of Tata Consultancy Services in Mumbai on June 28, 2013. AFP PHOTO

• Cyrus Mistry was the younger son of Pallonji Mistry, head of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. In 1991 he entered the family business, becoming director of its construction company. Shapoorji Pallonji is the single largest shareholder of Tata Sons with a stake of 18.5%.

Cyrus Mistry gestures during the Velidictory function of the Vibrant Gujarat 2013 6th Global Summit. AFP PHOTO

• 48-year-old Mistry is an engineer and a management graduate who is credited with increasing Pallonji’s construction business from a turnover of $20 million to $1.5 billion. In 2006 Pallonji Mistry retired from the board of the Tata Group and Cyrus Mistry took over. In 2012 Mistry became chairman of the gigantic Tata Group. Ratan Tata had stepped down to make way for younger blood.

  Ratan Tata (R) and Cyrus Mistry (C) talking with, Narendra Modi (L) in Gandhinagar near Ahmedabad. File Photo: AFP.

• One of Cyrus Mistry’s sisters married Noel Tata, Ratan Tata’s half brother and a well-known executive in the Tata Group. In 1992 Cyrus Mistry married a daughter of Iqbal Chagla, one of India’s most prominent lawyers.

  FILE PIC: AFP

• He served on the board of Tata Sons as director for five years. Tata Sons was reportedly unhappy with Mistry's approach of shedding non-profit businesses, including the conglomerate's steel business in Europe, and concentrating only on cash cows. Turnover fell to $103bn (£84bn) in its last financial year from $108bn over the previous 12 months. The loss-making Talbot works in UK is also cited a reason.