Mumbai: The custodian of the diversified Tata behemoth — the Tata family — may well have a newbie installed in a key managerial position to burnish the group’s legacy and its legend. It is believed that Maya Tata, the 34-year-old scion of the Tata family, who shies away from the arc lights is being groomed for an important job within the group.
It is understood that Maya Tata who has been brought on board as a board member of the Tata Medical Centre Trust, along with her siblings, Leah and Neville, is being shown the ropes by Ratan Tata. It is not known how this will play out in the future for the exact contours are a matter of conjecture currently. The August 29 AGM of Tata Sons may well provide a pointer in this regard.
However, Maya Tata has excellent pedigree as she is the daughter of Noel Tata, the half-brother of Ratan Tata, and Aloo Mistry, daughter of the late billionaire Pallonji Mistry and sister of former Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry who unfortunately died in a car crash. The Mistry family has long held close to 18.4 per cent in the Tata holding company Tata Sons through Cyrus Investments Pvt. Ltd and Sterling Investment Group.
The Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) group, which holds about 18.4 per cent stake in Tata Sons, is unlikely to hold any adversarial position during the latter’s annual general meeting (AGM) to be held on August 29. This will be the first Tata Sons AGM after the demise of Cyrus Mistry, former chairman of the Tata holding company, in a road accident last year.
Tata Sons announced a dividend of 1,750 per cent for FY23 compared with 1,000 per cent the year ago. The dividend payout involves cash flows of Rs 707.1 crore against over Rs 404 crore last year. Thus, she has a double connection to the Tatas, her father Noel is Ratan Tata’s half brother while her mother is the late Cyrus Mistry’s sister.
Maya studied at UK’s Bayes Business School and the University of Warwick. She is the grand-daughter of Naval Tata and his second wife Simone Tata, who is the mother of Noel Tata and the step-mother of Ratan Tata.
She started out by joining the Tata Opportunities Fund, an integral subsidiary of Tata Capital. At the fund, Maya honed her skills in portfolio management and investor relations, understanding the intricate dynamics of the corporate world.
Maya’s career trajectory took an unexpected turn with the abrupt closure of the Tata Opportunities Fund. This abrupt shift led her to transition to Tata Digital, a subsidiary of the Tata Group that focuses on harnessing the potential of the digital realm. Under the leadership of N. Chandrasekaran, the group allocated a substantial sum of Rs 1,000 crore to Tata Digital’s plans. The Tata Neu App has not had the expected success or impact that the Group thought it would have.
Maya Tata’s involvement with Tata Digital coincided with the launch of the Tata Neu App, an innovative platform that offers users a personalised and immersive shopping experience.
This strategic move threw into stark relief Maya’s ease for embracing new-age technologies to drive business growth.
