Meet Maya, Leah who joined Sir Ratan Tata Industrial Institute’s board

The daughters of Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, replaced Arnaz Kotwal and Freddy Talati

Hyderabad: Noel Tata’s daughters, Maya and Leah, were on Thursday inducted on the board of trustees of the Sir Ratan Tata Industrial Institute (SRTII), a unit of Sir Ratan Tata Trust.

Maya and Leah Tata have replaced Arnaz Kotwal and Freddy Talati who resigned from the board. While this is seen as a move to infuse young blood, it also riled the elders’ at SRTI, according to media report.

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An upset Kotwal, who is now in Dubai, wrote a dissent note to fellow trustees as per media reports. “… was very saddened that none of you reached out to speak with me directly about this matter and I was blindsided by this communication from a virtual stranger under the direction of his CEO, Sidharth Sharma, both of whom have no nexus to SRTI,” as quoted in the media.

Ratan Tata, who died in October, was until his death the chairman of Tata Trusts, the philanthropic arm of the Tata Group, which holds around 66% in the group’s holding company Tata Sons.

Noel Tata, Ratan Tata’s half-brother was appointed as chairman of Tata Trusts in October 2024. Noel is married to Aloo Mistry, daughter of industrialist Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry and sister of late Cyrus Mistry, who was also a former chairman of the Tata Group. The SP Group is a major shareholder in Tata Sons with around 18 per cent stake. They have three children: Leah, Maya and Neville Tata.

Leah Tata

Leah Tata is the eldest daughter of Noel and Aloo. She is vice president at The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), the hospitality arm of Tata Group. Leah joined the Tata Group in 2006, and worked as Assistant Manager at Taj Hotels. She is also on the boards of the Tata Social Welfare Trust, the Tata Education Trust and the JRD and the Thelma J Tata Trust, She has a master’s in marketing from IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, as per available information.

Maya Tata

Maya Tata was instrumental in launching the Tata Neu app. An alumna of Bayes Business School in London and the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, she also serves on the board of Tata Medical Center Trust. She has worked with Tata Digital and Tata Opportunities Fund.

Neville Tata
Neville Tata works with Trent Ltd, the retail arm founded by his grandmother Simone Tata. Neville heads Star Bazaar, a retail chain under Trent. He is married to Manasi Kirloskar, daughter of late Vikram Kirloskar, who was Chairman of Toyota Motor .

SRTII
The Sir Ratan Tata Industrial Institute was founded in 1928 by Lady Navajbai Tata and the Stri Zarthostri Mandal. The institute offers vocational training programmes to empower women.