An ex-Tata employee reflects on Cyrus Mistry's ouster

As someone who has worked for more than two decades with the Tata Group, Cyrus Mistry’s ouster came as a shock to me.

Although a chairman has never been sacked before, there have been several instances when people at senior positions have been forced to quit. And while only time will tell what caused Mistry’s departure, the one thing that I do know from my time there is that the group won’t compromise on its values.

While inefficiency could still be tolerated to some level (people were transferred, "re-adjusted" is what it was called), dishonesty and corruption were not tolerated. The group operates on trust, and integrity is sacrosanct.

I don’t really know what transpired, but, perhaps, Mistry became too big for his boots. He possibly started sidelining the old coterie and became too dictatorial in his ways. He was, perhaps, not collaborating, not taking people along and that is against the Tata ethos.

The Tata Group has always taken immense pride in the way it is perceived internally and externally, and its employees stay on for years and years — a lifetime — because they are appreciated and valued.

Tata Group was never the best paymaster, but the intangibles were tremendous. The work culture was one of trust, respect, certainty, stability, security, and despite being a large group, it felt like one big family. When you felt secure, you made the most of your potential.

From what I can gauge, Mistry’s leadership style may have been at odds with the group’s legacy.

In the past too, Russi Mody, who joined as an office assistant in 1939, stepped down 53 years later (when he was chairman and managing director of TISCO) after being at loggerheads with Ratan Tata. Mody tried to bring in his adopted son, Aditya Kashyap, as the joint managing director, but both he and Kashyap were forced to resign in 1993.

Ajit Kerkar is another example. After having joined the Taj Group of Hotels in 1961, he rose to the top, but in 1997, during a board meeting, the directors apparently got him to resign in 10 minutes — he was then chairman and managing director. Ratan Tata then took over as chairman.

The third person, again axed by Ratan Tata, was Darbari Seth. He was forced to step down in 1994 from Tata Chemicals and Tata Tea. Three years later, in 1997, Nani Palkhivala, Darbari Seth, SA Sabavala, KM Chinnappa, SR Vakil, AH Tobaccowala and FC Kohli - all stepped down from the Tata Board in one go — under pressure.

When Mistry was brought in, it didn’t come as a shock, but it did come as a surprise. I am now intrigued as to what caused his ouster and made Ratan Tata come back from retirement to take control.

I, for one, will be watching the developments quite closely.

(The writer spent 25 years at Tata Steel (formerly TISCO) as a management professional and considers it one of India's best companies to work for.)

Also read - Cyrus Mistry sacking from Tata: Tale of family discord since 1930s

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