'A promising business leader': Tributes pour in for Cyrus Mistry

Cyrus Mistry, a business tycoon and the former chairman of Tata Sons, died on Sunday in an accident. According to local police report, Cyrus was returning from Ahmedabad to Mumbai and the Mercedes car that he was in along with three others rammed into a divider on a bridge in Maharashtra’s Palghar district that killed two people including Cyrus. The two other people in the car were Darius Pandole, the MD of JM Financial Private Equity and gynecologist Dr Anahita Pandole who survived and are reportedly being treated in a hospital in Vapi, Gujarat.

Cyrus is the younger son of business baron Pallonji Mistry. Born on July 4, 1968, Cyrus completed his civil engineering from London’s Imperial College. He also had a masters degree in management from the London Business School. He was an Irish citizen.

Shapoorji Pallonji Group has diversified business interests from real estate and construction to renewable energy. Cyrus joined the family business in 1991 as director and later went on to become managing director of the group. He is credited with the growth and expansion of Shapoorji Pallonji Group into many markets like Middle East and Africa.

However, he came into the spotlight when he was appointed the chairman of Tata Sons. The Shapoorji Pallonji Group have had relations with the Tatas for many decades. Pallonji Mistry was often called the Phantom of Bombay House. It is the single-largest investor in Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, with a stake of little over 18 per cent.

Cyrus had served as the director on the board of various Tata Companies. In 2012, he was appointed as the chairman of Tata Sons, after Ratan Tata retired from his executive role. Cyrus was the first non-Tata to lead the Tata Group.

He had taken charge of the Tata Group when there were challenges abound, including high debt and falling market share in passenger vehicles among other things. Cyrus set up a group executive council in 2013, which would provide strategic and operational support to him.

However, in 2016, just four years into his appointment, Cyrus was unceremoniously sacked. Later in February 2017, Natarajan Chandrasekaran was appointed as the chairman of Tata Sons.

Cyrus’ ouster as chairman soured relations between the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and Tata Sons.

Cyrus launched a tirade against the Tatas for his sacking and also launched a legal battle challenging the manner in which he was ousted. While the National Company Law Tribunal dismissed his petition, the appellate tribunal ruled in his favor and also reinstated him as the chairman of Tata Sons. The matter eventually went to the Supreme Court and the apex court ruled in the favour of Tatas.

Following the verdict, Cyrus had said he was “personally disappointed by the outcome” but “I sleep with a clear conscience.”

The disagreements with the Tatas on various strategies and decisions taken seemingly led to his ouster. The real reasons and what transpired in the months before he was ousted that led the Tatas to take the drastic step, remained a puzzle and may well remain unknown forever with Cyrus’ death.

Many political leaders and business tycoons expressed shock at his sudden demise.

“The untimely demise of Cyrus Mistry is shocking. He was promising business leader who believed in India’s economic prowess. His passing away is a big loss to the world of commerce and industry,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

N. Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons, said he was “deeply saddened” by the sudden and untimely demise of Cyrus Mistry.

“He had a passion for life, and it is really tragic that he passed away at such a young age,” he said.

Offering its condolences, Tata Consultancy Services said Cyrus was “a warm, friendly, and congenial person who built a strong relationship with the TCS family during his time as the chairman of the company.”

Professor Nirmalya Kumar, who was part of the group executive council back when Cyrus was the chairman of Tata Group, remembered him as a “brilliant and understated human being.”

“Cyrus was a great and rare human being in the corporate world. Most thoughtful, with humility to constantly push himself to learn more deeply about the Tata business/challenges,” he said.

Kumar said he loved his “smarts and integrity” and thanked Cyrus for teaching him about corporate governance.

Anand Mahindra, the chairman of Mahindra Group, said it was hard to digest the news of Cyrus’ demise.

“I got to know Cyrus well during his all-too-brief tenure as the head of House of Tata. I was convinced he was destined for greatness. If life had other plans for him, so be it, but life itself should not have been snatched away from him,” he said.

Cyrus Mistry is survived by wife Rohiqa Chagla, the daughter of prominent lawyer Iqbal Chagla, and two sons – Firoz and Zahan Mistry.

In June this year, Pallonji Mistry had died at the age of 93. Mistry, often considered to be media-shy, now has quietly left this world.