Cyrus Mistry, in full Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (4th July 1968 to 4th September 2022) was an Indian-born Irish Businessman. Mr Mistry was the Chairperson of the TATA Group from 2012 to 2016. He was the sixth chairman of the TATA group and the youngest to head Tata Sons when he took over from Ratan Tata in 2012. Cyrus Mistry was known as ‘the most low profile man with the most high profile job’. Let’s relive ‘Cyrus Mistry’s’ life once again with ‘Hello Entrepreneurs’.
Background
Cyrus Mistry was born to a Parsi family in Bombay, Maharashtra. He was the younger son of the Indian Billionaire and the construction magnate Pallonji Mistry and Patsy Perin Dubash. His parents belonged to a Zoroastrian faith (Ancient Persian religion) and had roots in India. Cyrus Mistry was educated at the prestigious Cathedral & John Canon School in South Mumbai. Further, he studied at London Imperial College and was awarded the Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from the University of London in 1990. Mistry later studied at the London Business School and was awarded the International Executive Masters in Management from the University of London in 1996.
Personal Life
Cyrus Mistry was married to Rohiqa Chagla, the daughter of the lawyer Iqbal Chagla and the granddaughter of jurist M.C. Chagla. Iqbal Chagla also strategised the course of action for Cyrus Mistry in the legal battle against Tata Sons. Cyrus Mistry and Rohiqa Chagla have two sons, Firoz Mistry and Zahan Mistry. 
Business Journey
His journey started in 1991 when he entered the family business, becoming director of its flagship construction company, Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Ltd. His brother, Shapoor, directed the group’s real-estate business, and their father continued as chairman of the board of directors. Pallonji Mistry also sat on the board of the Tata Group, another Mumbai-based conglomerate controlled by another prominent Parsi family, the TATAs. During Cyrus Mistry’s two decades of overseeing at Shapoorji Pallonji & Co., the company continued its expansion beyond traditional construction to large engineering projects, including building power plants and factories. The company also continued to grow overseas. In 2006 Pallonji Mistry retired from the board of the Tata Group, and the 38-year-old Cyrus Mistry took his place. In November 2011, Cyrus Mistry was made deputy chairman of the Tata Group, with the explicit goal of taking over as chairman one year later, upon the retirement of Ratan Tata, who had headed the group since 1991.
Cyrus Mistry’s appointment came after significant expansion for the Tata Group, which comprised more than 100 companies, including Britain’s Jaguar Land Rover car manufacturer and the Corus Group, a major European steel producer. His responsibilities included:
- Streamlining the group’s structure.
- Consolidating related businesses.
- Opening management to skilled individuals who might not be connected to the Tata or Mistry families.
In 2012 he officially succeeded Ratan Tata as chairman of the Tata Group. Mistry’s tenure as chairman lasted until October 2016.
Some Unknown Facts of Cyrus Mistry
- Mistry was the single largest shareholder of TATA Sons. He owned a stake of over 18.5%.
- He has two sisters named Laila and Aloo. Aloo is married to Noel Tata, the half-brother of Ratan Tata.
- Mistry was often described as “soft-spoken, candid and down to earth”.
- He was a prolific reader. With that, Mistry was fond of golf and horse racing too. He frequently visited their 200-acre Manjri stud farm in Pune, one of the oldest in the country.
