Category: Leaders

Maya and Leah Tata, daughters of Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, have been inducted into the board of trustees of the Sir Ratan Tata Industrial Institute (SRTII), a key subset of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, according to a report by the Economic Times. This trust is one of the two principal shareholders of Tata Sons, the group holding company.

The sisters have replaced outgoing trustees Arnaz Kotwal and Freddy Talati, who stepped down to make way for the new appointments. With this move, all three of Noel Tata's children are now represented on the boards of the smaller Tata Trusts, though they have not yet been inducted into the two main trusts—Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Allied Trusts, and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Allied Trusts.

The transition has not been without controversy. Outgoing trustee Arnaz Kotwal expressed dissatisfaction with the process in a letter to her fellow trustees, stating that she felt blindsided by the request to resign. Kotwal, currently based in Dubai and working with VFS Global, wrote, “I was saddened that none of you reached out to speak with me directly about this matter,” the report quoted.

Freddy Talati, the other outgoing trustee, is now the Chief Operating Officer of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA).

According to an official familiar with the matter, the appointments of Leah and Maya Tata were made to align with SRTII’s ongoing renovation and upgradation plans. The Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), which has the authority to nominate three of the six SRTII board members, emphasized the need for trustees with prior experience in managing SRTII’s affairs and who are based locally in Mumbai.

The board of SRTT, which unanimously approved the appointments, includes Noel Tata, Vijay Singh, Venu Srinivasan, Darius Khambata, Jehangir H. Jehangir, and Mehli Mistry.

The involvement of Maya and Leah Tata, both millennials, is seen as a strategic move to prepare the next generation for larger roles within the Tata Group.

Maya Tata, who began her career at Tata Capital, is currently part of the team managing the Tata Neu app under Tata Digital. Leah Tata, a vice president at Indian Hotels, holds a master’s degree in marketing from IE Business School.

Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani has weighed in on the ongoing work-life balance and 70-hour work week debate, according to media reports. The industrialist said that one feels balanced when they do things that they like doing. His take on the raging debate: life becomes simple when one accepts the fact they are mortal 

“Your work-life balance should not be imposed on me, and my work-life balance shouldn't be imposed on you. Say, someone spends four hours with family and finds joy in it, or if someone else spends eight hours and enjoys it, that's their balance. Notwithstanding that if you spend eight hours, biwi bhaag jayegi [wife will run away],” the industrialist observed.

He added that children also notice that one does not have a world out of their family and work and take note of the same. 

“Your work-life is balanced when you do things which you like doing… For us either it is family or work, we don't have a world out of this… Our children also notice that only and take note of it… No one has come here permanently. When one understands this, life becomes simple,” Adani said.