Cyrus Mistry, former chairman of the Tata Sons, dies in a road accident

Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry addresses shareholders through the annual normal assembly of Tata Consultancy Providers (TCS) in Mumbai June 28, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash

MUMBAI, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Cyrus Mistry, the 54-year-old former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, died in a highway accident close to the monetary capital Mumbai on Sunday, Indian police mentioned.

Mistry was ousted as chairman of Tata Sons, the holding firm of the $300 billion software program salt conglomerate Tata, in a 2016 coup, sparking a drawn-out authorized battle over which the India’s highest courtroom lastly dominated in Tata. favor of the group.

The accident occurred in Palghar, situated about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Mumbai, on Sunday afternoon. Mistry was touring to Mumbai from Gujarat with three different individuals, mentioned B. Patil, the highest police officer in Palghar district.

A senior Mumbai police official mentioned the automotive Mistry was touring in crashed right into a splitter and he died on the scene.

A number of outstanding politicians and industrialists tweeted their condolences following information of Mistry’s passing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi known as Mistry’s disappearance premature and stunning.

“He was a promising entrepreneur who believed in India’s financial prowess. His passing is a good loss to the world of commerce and trade,” Modi tweeted.

Mistry’s household and Tata Sons didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Tata Consultancy Providers, through which Tata Sons has a majority stake, mentioned it mourned the premature passing of its former chairman, including that the corporate supplied its “honest condolences and prayers” to his household and pals.

“He was a heat, pleasant and likeable particular person who established a powerful relationship with the TCS household throughout his tenure as president of the corporate,” TCS mentioned in a press release.

Mistry was the sixth chairman of the Tata Group, a conglomerate based over 150 years in the past, and the second not named Tata. He was the brother-in-law of Noel Tata, half-brother of Mistry’s predecessor as President Ratan Tata.

Mistry’s grandfather first purchased shares in Tata Sons within the Thirties. The Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP), based by Mistry’s father, presently owns almost the primary shareholder of an organization majority managed by trusts.

The decades-long relationship between SP Group, one of many nation’s largest development firms, and Tata Group was strained after he was sacked, and SP Group has since sought to “separate its pursuits” from Tata Sons.

Fund managers Reuters spoke to on the time of Mistry’s appointment described him as little identified in enterprise circles.

A graduate in Civil Engineering from Imperial Faculty London and in Administration from London Enterprise College, Mistry describes himself as a voracious reader of enterprise books and a golfer, and shares his household’s love of horses.

SP Group didn’t instantly reply to requests from Reuters for touch upon Mistry’s demise.

Reporting by Rupam Jain; Extra reporting by Nallur Sethuraman; Written by Sudarshan Varadhan; Modifying by Frances Kerry and Jan Harvey

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