Mint Quick Edit | Noel Tata’s ascent and what investors expect

There was no surprise in the appointment of Noel Tata as chairman of the Tata Trusts that own almost two-thirds of Tata Sons, the group’s holding company, after the demise of his half-brother Ratan Tata. The trusts fund a wide range of philanthropic activities that a senior family member was judged best placed to oversee. 

The 67-year-old Tata’s own business record is impressive, as evident from his leadership of retail venture Trent, and he’ll presumably be looking for Tata Sons to perform better. 

Its big profit-maker TCS has been in the slow lane and must adapt to the impact of artificial intelligence on its software business, while the group’s push into chips will take time to pay off. 

Also read: Noel Tata named new Tata Trusts chairman - Here are 5 lesser-known facts about him

Tata investors will be watching the new chairman’s relationship with Tata Sons’ chairman N. Chandrasekaran, a tech-focused leader who once led TCS. Noel Tata is also brother-in-law of the late Cyrus Mistry, whose differences with Ratan Tata had led to the holding company’s reins being turned over from Mistry to Chandrasekaran. 

Now, with the group’s broad interests as pole star, investors are counting on a value-maximizing equation between the group’s charity chief and business head.