Cyrus Mistry was an Indian-born Irish Businessman. He was the Chairperson of the Tata Group from 2012 to 2016. Cyrus Mistry was the sixth Chairman of the Tata Group and only the second one not to bear the surname Tata. He joined the family construction company, Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Ltd as a Director in 1991. He had been the Managing Director of the company and also the Chairman of the Tata Sons and the Tata Group.
Cyrus Mistry was married to Rohiqa Chagla, the daughter of the lawyer Iqbal Chagla and the granddaughter of jurist M.C. Chagla. He was an Irish Citizen and a permanent resident of India (having acquired Overseas Citizenship of India).
Cyrus Mistry, on September 4, 2022, along with the three family members of the Pandole family visited the Iranshah Atash Behram at Udvada. While returning to Mumbai, the Mercedes Car in which they were traveling crashed into a road divider in Palghar on a bridge over the Surya River.
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Cyrus Pallonji Mistry |
| Nickname | CPM |
| Profession | Businessman |
| Famous for | Being the former chairman of the Tata Group, an Indian business conglomerate |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters– 175 cm in meters– 1.75 m in feet & inches– 5’ 9” |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 4 July 1968 (Thursday) |
| Birthplace | Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India |
| Date of Death | 4 September 2022 |
| Place of Death | Palghar, Maharashtra |
| Age Years as of 2024 | 55 Years as of 2024 |
| Death Cause | Car Crash |
| Zodiac sign | Cancer |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Hometown | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| School | Cathedral and John Connon School, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| College/University | • Imperial College, the University of London • London Business School, the University of London |
| Educational Qualification(s) | • Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from Imperial College, the University of London (1990) • International Executive Master in Management from the London Business School, the University of London (1996) |
| Religion | Zoroastrianism |
| Ethnicity | Parsi |
| Food Habit | Non-vegetarian |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status (at the time of death) | Married |
| Marriage Date | 2 January 1992 |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Rohiqa Mistry (daughter of a prominent Indian lawyer Iqbal Chagla and the granddaughter of the popular Indian Indian jurist, diplomat, and Cabinet Minister Mohammadali Carim Chagla) |
| Children | Son(s)– Zahan Mistry, Firoz Mistry Daughter– None |
| Parents | Father– Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (Business Tycoon; died on 28 June 2022) Mother– Patsy Perin Dubash |
| Siblings | Brother– Shapoor Mistry (Businessman; elder) Sister(s)– Laila Mistry, Aloo Mistry |
| Favourites | |
| Cuisine(s) | Parsi, Maharashtrian |
| Food | Thecha, Prawn Curry |
| Colour | Black |
| Holiday Destination | Europe |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | Cyrus Mistry owned various luxury cars like Mercedes-Benz GLC 220d 4MATIC, Honda CR-V, Jaguar XF, Tata Safari Storme, and Tata Aria |
| Expensive Things/Valuables | • An 80-metre superyacht Tatiana worth $100 million • Plush houses in London, Dubai, Ireland, and Mumbai • Access to Tata Group private jet for personal and professional travels until 2020 |
| Money Factor | |
| Net Worth (approx.) | Rs. 70,957 crores (as of 2018) |
Cyrus Mistry Education
Cyrus Mistry was educated at the prestigious Cathedral & John Canon School in South Mumbai. He studied at the Imperial College London and was awarded the Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from the University of London in 1990.
Mistry later studied at the London Business School and was awarded the International Executive Masters in Management from the University of London in 1996.
Cyrus Mistry Net Worth
Cyrus Mistry owned an 18.4% stake in Tata Sons, through his company, Cyrus Investments Ltd. In the year 2018, Cyrus Mistry’s net worth was approximately $10 billion. He was also a member of the National Integration Council.
Cyrus Mistry Personal Life
Cyrus Mistry was married to Rohiqa Chagla, the daughter of the lawyer Iqbal Chagla and the granddaughter of jurist M.C. Chagla. Iqbal Chagla also strategized the course of action for Cyrus Mistry in the legal battle against Tata Sons. Cyrus Mistry and Rohiqa Chagla have two sons Firoz Mistry and Zahan Mistry.
Cyrus Mistry Career
On September 2006, Cyrus Mistry joined the board of Tata Sons, a year after his father retired from it. He served as a director of Tata Elxsi Limited from September 24, 1990 to October 26, 2009 and was also a Director of Tata Power Co. Ltd until September 18, 2006.
In 2013, Cyrus Mistry was appointed the Chairman of Tata Sons. In addition, he was also the Chairman of all the major Tata Companies including Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Teleservices, Tata Power, Tata Global Beverages, and Tata Chemicals.
However, in October 2016, the board of Tata Group’s holding company, Tata Sons voted to remove Mistry from the post of Chairman after offering him an opportunity to resign voluntarily. A few months later, Natarajan Chandrashekharan was named as the new Chairman of the Tata Group.
Cyrus Mistry Car Accident
On September 4, 2022, Cyrus Mistry was killed in a car accident after his car hit a divider in Maharashtra’s Palghar District. As per the police, the car, a Mercedes, crushed into a divider near Charoti on a bridge around 3.15 PM.
There were four people in the vehicle, of which two, including Cyrus Mistry, died on the spot and the other deceased person has been identified as Jahangir Binshah Pandole. Those injured in the accident have been identified as Dr. Anahita Pandole, a top gynecologist at Breach Candy Hospital, and her husband Darius Pandole. They have been admitted to the ICU of Rainbow Hospital in Vapi.
Some Lesser Known Facts About Cyrus Mistry
- Cyrus Mistry was an Irish businessman of Indian origin. He was the former chairperson of the Tata Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, and a scion of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
- He was born to Parsi parents. Both his parents followed the Zoroastrian faith. His mother (of Indian origin) was a citizen of Ireland. Later, his father also decided to take up Irish citizenship.
- Cyrus was a fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
- In 1991, Cyrus Mistry joined his family’s construction company Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Ltd as a director.
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- Three years later, he was appointed as the Managing Director of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. Under his leadership, their construction business flourished and their company, which was earlier limited to construction, started implementing projects under design and build and EPC delivery methodologies, implementing complex projects in the marine, oil and gas, and rail sectors. The company also undertook agriculture, biofuels, and large road construction projects.
- In September 2006, a year after Mistry’s father, Pallonji Mistry, retired from Tata Sons, Cyrus joined the board of the company, representing his family’s 18.5 per cent stake in the company. Apparently, Cyrus’ grandfather purchased the shares in the company for the first time in 1930s.
- Previously, Cyrus held many non-executive positions on boards of several other Tata companies like Tata Elxsi Limited and Tata Power Co. Ltd.
- In November 2011, Cyrus was appointed as the deputy chairman of the Tata Group; initially, he feared taking up the responsibility, but after much persuasion from Ratan Tata, Cyrus agreed to take up the post.
- Subsequently, he resigned from Shapoorji Pallonji & Company to avoid any conflict of interest.
- He worked as the deputy chairman of Tata Sons under the leadership of Ratan Tata for around a year. Upon Tata’s retirement in 2012, Cyrus was appointed as the chairman of the Tata Sons, becoming the sixth chairman of the Tata Group; He was the second chairman of the company who did not bear the Tata surname, first one being Nowroji Saklatwala.
- Besides being the chairman of the Tata Sons, Cyrus also headed the key businesses of the Tata group like Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Teleservices, Tata Power, Tata Global Beverages, and Tata Chemicals.
- On 24 October 2016, after serving as the chairman of Tata Sons for around four years, Cyrus Mistry was removed from the position in a boardroom coup. Before his removal through voting, he was given a chance to resign from his post voluntarily. After his removal from the position, Ratan Tata took over as the interim Chairman of Tata Sons for around two months. Later, Natarajan Chandrashekharan was appointed as the new Chairman of Tata Sons.
- After his dismissal from the Tata Sons, Cyrus returned to his family business.
- After Cyrus Mistry was unceremoniously dethroned as the chairman of the Tata Sons, his relations with the Tata Group and its patriarch Ratan Tata began to sore. In 2016, Mistry backed by the firms Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt Ltd filed a case against Tata Sons in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) alleging oppression and mismanagement by the company. In his application, he claimed that during his tenure as the chairman of Tata and Sons his work was always appreciated by the board and raised questions about the reasons that led to his sudden removal from the post. In July 2018, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) announced the verdict in Tata Sons’ favour. The NCLT judgement was overturned by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in December 2019 which stated that the removal of Mistry from the position of the Chairman of Tata Sons was illegal. The Tribunal passed an order to reinstate Cyrus as the Chairperson of Tata sons for his remaining term. In 2020, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s judgement was challenged before the Supreme Court by Ratan Tata and Tata Sons. However, Supreme Court upheld NCLAT’s decision to reinstate Cyrus as the Chairman of Tata Sons. Later, Cyrus Mistry filed a cross-appeal in the court to seek more relief and the Supreme Court, during the final hearing of the case in March 2021, ruled that Mistry’s removal from the position of ‘Chairman’ was legal.
- Cyrus Mistry’s favourite pastimes included reading and playing golf. He also shared his family’s love for horses.
- A food connoisseur, Cyrus enjoyed eating different cuisines.
- During a media conversation, his friends described him as a soft-spoken, candid, and down-to-earth person.
- Cyrus Mistry was fond of luxury cars, especially SUVs.
- Having acquired the Overseas Citizenship of India, Cyrus was a permanent resident of India. He perceived himself as a global citizen.
- In 2013, Cyrus was named as the most important industrialist in both India and Britain in an article published in The Economist, a British weekly newspaper.
- On 4 September 2022, Cyrus Mistry, along with three other people, was travelling from Gujarat’s Udwada to Mumbai in his Mercedes GLC Sports when his car collided with a road divider on a bridge over the Surya river at Charoti Naka. The car was being driven by Anahita Pandole, who lost the control of the speeding car when she tried to overtake a vehicle from the left side. Cyrus, who was sitting in the back seat of the car, suffered a haemorrhage (heavy bleeding) and immediately died. Apparently, he was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.
- Expressing grief on Cyrus’ untimely death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media,
- Addressing Mistry’s family, Shapoorji Pallonji Group wrote a heartfelt condolence letter on LinkedIn referring to Cyrus as a visionary businessman and a low-profile person. The letter read,
- During a media conversation, the NCP leader Supriya Sule referred to him as her twin. She said,
Further, sharing that Mistry hated any kind of attention in childhood, Cyrus sai