Noel Tata passes baton to Bahram Vakil at Tata Investment Corporation

Noel Tata passes baton to Bahram Vakil

MUMBAI: Tata Investment Corporation has appointed Bahram Vakil as chairman, completing a boardroom handover that has seen Noel Tata step down from a string of Tata companies on reaching the group’s retirement age.The appointment is the second in quick succession for Vakil. He had already been named chairman of Trent, the group’s retail arm behind Westside and Zudio, on the same timetable, succeeding Noel.The reshuffle extends beyond Tata Investment and Trent. At Tata International, T V Narendran, chief executive and managing director of Tata Steel, will become chairman, succeeding Noel Tata. Narendran, already a non-executive director on the Tata International board, takes over as part of the same retirement-driven change.Vakil, co-founder of law firm AZB & Partners, takes over from Nov 12, a day after Noel Tata retired as chairman and director at the close of business on November 11. Noel, who joined the board in June 2004 and had chaired the company since June 2010, becomes chairman emeritus.For a group long defined by family stewardship and Tata lifers, the appointment is notable. Vakil is a corporate lawyer, not an operating executive.

He is, however, no stranger to the group. He became vice-chairman and independent director of Tata Investment in March 2025, giving him a front-row seat before his elevation.There is also precedent for turning to an outsider. In 2005, Ratan Tata stepped down as chairman of VSNL, now Tata Communications and independent director Subodh Bhargava took over. In 2017, private equity veteran Renuka Ramnath became chairperson of Tata Communications, succeeding Bhargava.Under Tata Group guidelines, non-executive, non-independent directors retire at 70. Noel turns 70 on Nov 12. He will remain chairman of Tata Trusts and a Tata Trusts nominee on the board of Tata Sons, the holding company. Narendran's appointment keeps Tata International, the group’s trading and distribution arm, under a Tata operating chief, in contrast to Tata Investment and Trent, where the chairmanship has passed to an outside professional.

At Voltas, Sunil D’Souza, chief executive of Tata Consumer Products, has also taken over as chairman.