Tata Group, India’s biggest conglomerate, has sacked chairman Cyrus Mistry after a “clash of cultures” saw him lose the backing of Ratan Tata, his predecessor and patriarch of the founding family.
In a brief statement that sent shockwaves through India’s business circles, the company also said the board was reinstating former chairman Ratan Tata as interim chairman.
It said it had already established a committee to identify a long-term successor for Mr Mistry, a process it said would be completed within the next four months. The statement gave no explanation for the removal of Mr Mistry, whose family controls 18 per cent of Tata Sons, the conglomerate’s holding company.