Mumbai, Sep 4 (Reuters) – Indian police said on Sunday that Cyrus Mistry, the 54-year-old former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, died in a car accident near the financial capital Mumbai. In a boardroom coup in 2016, Mistry was removed as chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the $300 billion salt-to-software Tata conglomerate. This led to a long legal battle, which India’s highest court eventually ruled in favour of Tata Group.
On Sunday afternoon, the accident happened in Palghar, which is about 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Mumbai. B. Patil, the top police officer in Palghar district, said that Mistry and three other people were going from Gujarat to Mumbai. A senior Mumbai police officer said that Mistry’s car had hit a barrier and that he had died at the scene of the accident.
When the news came out that Mistry had died, a number of well-known politicians and businesspeople tweeted their condolences. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Mistry’s death happened too soon and was a shock. He was a smart businessman who thought India’s economy was strong. “His death is a big loss for the business and industry world,” Modi tweeted.
When asked for a comment, Mistry’s family and Tata Sons did not respond right away. Tata Sons owns most of Tata Consultancy Services. The company said it was saddened by its former chairman’s untimely death and that it was sending its “deepest condolences and prayers” to his family and friends.
TCS said in a statement, “He was a warm, friendly, and pleasant person who got along well with the TCS family during his time as chairman of the company.” Mistry was the sixth chairman of the Tata group, which started more than 150 years ago. He was also the second chairman whose last name wasn’t Tata. He was the brother-in-law of Noel Tata, who was the half-brother of Ratan Tata, who took Mistry’s place as chair.
In the 1930s, Mistry’s grandfather bought his first shares in Tata Sons. Mistry’s father started the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, which now has nearly 18% of the company. This makes it the largest single shareholder in a company that is mostly run by trusts.
After he was fired, SP Group, one of the largest construction companies in the country, and Tata Group had trouble getting along. Since then, SP Group has been trying to “separate its interests” from Tata Sons. When Mistry was hired, Reuters talked to fund managers who said he wasn’t well known in the business world.
Mistry got his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from London’s Imperial College and his master’s degree in management from the London Business School. He said he reads a lot of business books and plays golf, and that he and his family both love horses.
Reuters asked SP Group for a comment on Mistry’s death, but the company did not respond right away.
