Noel Tata has no quarrel with where the Tata Group is headed. His problem is with how it is getting there.
The Tata Trusts chairman said on Saturday that he backs the conglomerate’s push into new-age businesses such as batteries and semiconductors, and is not against investing in projects of national importance. But he said the country’s second-largest conglomerate should not lose discipline in executing them.
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, Noel said the Trusts remain ready to back Tata Sons’ national projects, which are part of the group’s DNA.
“I have not asked or questioned the direction of what we have done,” Noel said of Tata Sons’ investments in new-age businesses.
“I sometimes question the delivery of what we are doing. How will projects with a long gestation period succeed if we don’t have discipline, and how will we allocate capital to those projects? So, very clearly, direction is fine, but we also need discipline of execution in these very large projects,” he added.
The remarks come amid Noel’s differences with the Tata Sons board over three issues: the reappointment of chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran for another five-year term, a planned public offering of Tata Sons, and growing losses in new-age businesses including aviation, electric vehicle batteries, digital commerce and semiconductors.
Noel was unanimously appointed chairman of Tata Trusts on 11 October 2024, two days after his half-brother Ratan Tata died. The appointment put him at the helm of the philanthropic institutions that collectively own about 66% of Tata Sons.
Over the past 12 months, differences have emerged between Noel and Tata Sons, led by Chandrasekaran. What began as questions over the group’s losses in new-age businesses soon turned into questions over the leadership itself.
The dispute came to a head on 17 September 2026, when the Tata Sons board reappointed Chandrasekaran for a third five-year term despite Noel’s opposition. The resolution passed 4-1. The two Trust nominee directors on the board split, Noel voting against and Venu Srinivasan in favour, and independent director Harish Manwani broke the deadlock with a casting vote.
After the 17 September board meeting, Noel called the decision invalid, saying it could not be approved without most of the Trusts’ nominees agreeing. Tata Sons has defended the decision, while the Trusts have challenged its legality.
Noel has also opposed making Tata Sons a public company, arguing that in the Tata way of working, charity comes before business.
“My worry is that listing, which is what some people are proposing, will change the Tata way,” Noel said.
“If we have 30,000, 40,000 shareholders, profit may take precedence over philanthropy, and I think that would fundamentally change the Tata way of working,” he said.
