Noel Tata steps in to fill huge shoes of late Ratan Tata
New Delhi (PTI): Noel Tata -- the half-brother of late Rata Tata -- who takes over as Chairman of Tata Trusts, has been with the Tata Group for over four decades, slowly rising through the ranks in the salt-to-software conglomerate.
Having functioned mostly under the shadows of his illustrious half-brother, Noel (67) will now have the responsibility of leading the Tata Trusts -- broadly comprising Sir Ratan Tata Trust & Allied Trusts, and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust & Allied Trusts -- that hold a controlling 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons, the holding and promoter firm of Tata Group companies.
He is a Trustee on the boards of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.
His appointment as Chairman of Tata Trusts comes after the death of Ratan Tata late on Wednesday evening due to age-related health conditions.
Son of Naval H Tata and Simone N Tata, Noel Tata currently serves on the board of various Tata Group companies, including as the Chairman of Trent, Tata International Ltd, Voltas & Tata Investment Corporation and as the Vice Chairman of Tata Steel and Titan Company Ltd.
He has been associated with the Tata Group for over 40 years.
His last executive assignment was as the Managing Director of Tata International Ltd, the trading and distribution arm of the Tata Group, between August 2010 and November 2021. He had overseen the growth of the company from a turnover of USD 500 million to over USD 3 billion.
Before his stint in Tata International, Noel Tata served as the Managing Director of Trent Ltd, Tata group's retail arm. He played a pivotal role in the growth of Trent across formats, from a one-store operation in 1998 to over 700 stores across formats.
A graduate from Sussex University (UK), Noel completed the International Executive Programme (IEP) from INSEAD.
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Sabarimala gold loss: How did the accused reach Rahul's home, asks Vijayan
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday hit back at Rahul Gandhi for targeting the ruling CPI(M) over the Sabarimala gold loss case during a poll campaign, questioning how the accused in the case had managed to reach the Congress leader's home.
The Marxist veteran was apparently referring to a widely circulated purported photograph in which the prime accused in the Sabarimala gold loss cases, Unnikrishnan Potty, accompanied by some senior Congress leaders, was seen with Sonia Gandhi at her residence in Delhi.
He also said people have already given a reply to Rahul, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on this matter.
The CM's reaction came a day after Rahul sang a line from a popular parody song about CPI(M) leaders' alleged roles in the gold theft at the Sabarimala temple while addressing a corner meeting as part of the assembly polls campaign in Pathanamthitta district.
As he sang the line "swarnam kattathu aarappa" (who stole the gold of Ayyappa) from a song used by the Congress-led UDF to target the ruling Left during the local body polls a few months ago, at the meeting in Pathanamthitta -- the district where the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa is located-- the crowd cheered Rahul.
Soon after Gandhi targeted the Left party over the gold loss issue, CPI (M) activists began a social media campaign making allegations against his mother and former party chief Sonia Gandhi in connection with the matter.
While replying to a question regarding this, CM Vijayan said the Congress leader already got a befitting reply and should he also repeat the same.
"If he thinks about how all those who were involved in the stealing had reached his home...then he will get a reply. Anyway, we don't have any such flaws," Vijayan added.
Attacking the Left and the BJP over the Sabarimala gold loss issue, Rahul Gandhi on Monday had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had forgotten about what happened in Sabarimala, during his visit to Palakkad as part of election campaign.
Rahul claimed that the prime minister remained silent to avoid damaging the LDF.
He had also said that a UDF government would ensure that those responsible for alleged irregularities related to the temple are punished.
