Former TATA Sons chairperson Cyrus Mistry died in a road accident this afternoon near Mumbai, Palghar SP confirmed.
Mistry was traveling with three others to Mumbai from Ahmedabad when his Mercedes car hit the divider, one other with Cyrus Mistry died on the spot while the other two are admitted to a hospital in Kasa.
As per the reports Mistry’s car hit the divider on the road at a bridge over the Surya River in Palghar near Mumbai which led to the fatal accident leaving the industrialist dead.
As per the local police, the incident took place at nearly about 3.15 this afternoon.
Early Life and the beginning of his business journey:
Cyrus Mistry was born on July 4th, 1968 to a wealthy business family of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, a diversified conglomerate in Mumbai. Mistry served as the Chairperson of the gigantic Tata Group conglomerate from 2012 to 2016.
Cyrus was the youngest son of Palloji Mistry. His grandfather laid the foundation of this mammoth conglomerate with a construction company back in the 19th century.
The Mistrys belong to members of Mumbai’s Parsi community followers of the Zoroastrian religion who had grown prosperous as merchants and industrialists since the earliest colonial times.
Upon the completion of his schooling at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai, he left for London from where he acquired his engineering and management degree only to return to India and join the legacy of the prestigious family business.
In 1991 he entered the family business, becoming director of its flagship construction company, Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Ltd. Pallonji Mistry, his father also sat on the board of the TATA Group, a multinational giant controlled by the pioneers of the Indian growth story TATAS.
During Cyrus Mistry’s two decades reign as the boss of the company, Shapoorji Pallonji & Co made an enormous growth and expansion not just in India but in the regions like Africa and the Middle East as well.
The biggest point came in his life in 2006 when he replaced his father Pallonji Mistry on the board of the TATA Group and in November 2011 he was elevated to the post of deputy chairperson of the reputed TATA group, with an explicit goal of taking over as the chairperson after Ratan Tata who was set to retire from his post which he held since 1991.
Cyrus’s Irish passport hailed him as the first non-Indian and the second non-TATA to lead the TATA Group. But in reality, he was deeply rooted in India and was connected through marriage with the TATAS.
In 1992 Cyrus Mistry married a daughter of Iqbal Chagla, one of India’s most prominent lawyers, and their sons began their education as their father had, in Mumbai.
Upon his elevation as the deputy chairperson of the TATA Group, he resigned from Shapoorji Pallonji & Co.
Cyrus Mistry’s appointment came after a period of great expansion for the Tata Group, which comprised more than 100 companies, including Britain’s Jaguar Land Rover car manufacturer and the Corus Group, a major European steel producer.
Among the premier responsibilities that were bestowed upon Cyrus included streamlining the group’s structure. In 2012 he officially succeeded Ratan Tata as chairman of the Tata Group. Mistry’s tenure as chairman lasted until October 2016, when he was abruptly dismissed.
Several Media reports indicated that the disagreements with the members of the TATA family were the prime reason behind his ouster. Mistry later challenged his removal, accusing the board members of oppressing the minority shareholders of the group.
After a series of legal battles, the Supreme Court finally upheld Cyrus’s dismissal from the post in 2021.
A due investigation on the matter from the police will provide more insights into the incident which will be duly reported.