Neville Tata, son of Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata, was appointed as a trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust on Tuesday. The trust is the largest shareholder in Tata Sons, holding a 27.98% stake in the conglomerate’s holding company.
His induction follows the resolution of a long-standing internal tussle between two factions—one led by Noel Tata and the other by the late Ratan Tata’s close associate, Mehli Mistry—over the administration of the trusts controlling 66% of Tata Sons. Mistry was removed from key trusts and chose not to pursue legal action.
The 32-year-old Neville, who joined his father’s company Trent in 2016 and now heads the Zudio retail chain, was unanimously appointed for a three-year term starting Wednesday. The move is seen as Noel Tata consolidating influence over the family trusts.
Additionally, the board appointed Tata Group veteran Bhaskar Bhat and Venu Srinivasan as trustees for three years. Srinivasan, recently made vice chairman of the trust, had his tenure limited to three years following Maharashtra government rule changes preventing lifetime appointments.
