Noel Tata reportedly appointed chairman of Tata Trusts

Appointment of Ratan Tata's half-brother key as Tata Trusts owns 66% of holding firm

Mr Noel Tata was appointed on Oct 11 as chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Group's philanthropic arm Tata Trusts, the CNBC TV18 channel reported.

He succeeds his half-brother Ratan Tata, who died this week aged 86.

Mr Noel Tata's appointment is of significance as Tata Trusts owns 66 per cent of Tata Sons, the holding company of various firms under the Tata brand, which is more than 150 years old.

The 67-year-old already serves as a trustee on the board of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. He is also the chairman of Tata Trent and vice-chairman of Tata Steel.

Mr Noel Tata was chairman of the autos to steel conglomerate for over 20 years, and was responsible for acquisitions of foreign companies during his tenure.

Since 2014, he has been the chairman of Trent, the conglomerate's massively successful apparel retailer, whose shares have surged more than 6,000 per cent in the past decade and has been a runaway success in the domestic fast fashion sector.

Trent, which has been expanding store count and workforce even as peers cut jobs, has been one of the most successful Tata companies in recent years. Mr Noel Tata previously helmed Tata International from 2010 to 2021, during which the commodity trading firm's revenue jumped from US$500 million (S$653 million) to over US$3 billion.