From India Inc, it was Harsh Goenka who was arguably the first to take to X on Wednesday night to confirm the death of Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons. Soon, an official statement came from N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons.
The family’s official statement followed, ‘signed’ by 12 relatives closest to Tata:
— Tata Group (@TataCompanies) October 9, 2024
1. Simone Tata: Ratan Tata’s stepmother. The French-Swiss Catholic married Naval Tata in 1955 and settled in Mumbai. Former managing director of Lakme and chairperson of Trent. Industry watchers say that it was under her watch that the Tatas sold Lakme to Hindustan Unilever and bankrolled Trent. She is the mother to Noel Tata, current chairman of Trent, which runs the Westside chain among other ventures.
2. Jimmy Tata: Younger brother of Ratan Tata. The second child of Naval Tata and Soonoo Commissariat. He is said to be an intensely private man with very humble tastes, who lives in a two-bedroom apartment in Colaba. A tweet from Goenka once said that he was an excellent squash player.
Also read: Ratan Tata was happy and loving his life in US until his grandmother wanted him home
3 & 4. Aloo and Noel Tata: Tata’s half-brother and wife. Noel chairs Trent and Aloo is the daughter of Pallonji Mistry of Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Aloo’s brother Cyrus Mistry had succeeded Tata as chairman of Tata Sons and was later ousted after a bitter battle. There were speculations that Noel would succeed Tata eventually, but then N. Chandrasekaran was picked.
5 & 6. Shireen and Deanna Jejeebhoy: Ratan Tata’s half-sisters from his mother’s second marriage. According to thepeerage.com, after divorcing Naval Tata, Soonoo married Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy and the couple had three daughters: Shireen, Deanna and Geeta. Information on Geeta Jejeebhoy is not available.
7. Leah Tata: Noel’s daughter. Reported to be closely working with the Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), the hospitality arm of the conglomerate.
8. Maya Tata: Noel's daughter, and reportedly Tata’s favourite niece. According to news reports, the alumna of the University of Warwick and Bayes Business School began by managing investor relations at Tata Opportunities Fund and then worked closely with the launch of the Tata Neu app.
9-12. Manasi and Neville Tata: Noel’s son, Neville, married Manasi Kirloskar, and they have two children—Jamset Tata and Tiana Tata. Neville focuses on Trent brands like Zudio. Manasi is the daughter of the late Vikram S. Kirloskar and serves on multiple boards of Kirloskar companies.
Sources said that Tata backed the appointment of Leah, Maya, and Neville as trustees of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, the main philanthropic arms of the Tata Trusts.
