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"Tatas must get the absolutely best person globally to lead the business” as "that is the best way they would serve the Group, and indeed the community,” states Naushad Forbes, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry and co-chairman of Forbes Marshall, the engineering firm. He was responding to a request from Parsiana to share his views from a Parsi/Zoroastrian angle on the ongoing differences between Ratan Tata, the present interim chairman  of Tata Sons and Cyrus Mistry, the previous chairman.  Forbes was one of the respondents from among 17 eminent Zoroastrian captains of industry who were asked for their views. Farrokh Kavarana, a former director of Tata Sons and chairman of several Tata companies in India and abroad, notably the insurance ventures, responded on "the imbroglio” with: "I am afraid any comment at this stage by anybody except the key players would be purely speculative and premature.” Former senior advisor to the Group’s housing venture and ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay Jamsheed Kanga believes that "it would be good if a suitable Parsi is found,” and suggests that "Ratan should continue till he finds an appropriate person.” He believes the shareholders will welcome this. Keki Mistry, vice chairman and chief operating officer of HDFC Bank, a banking partner of the Group, stated that he has always had the well being of the Tatas at heart and that he "hoped the Group would come out unscathed.” Others declined to comment, allowing for the sensitive nature of the issue, or did not respond. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a poll hosted by Yazdi Tantra’s website zoroastrians.net asking its readers whether "the next Tata chairman should be from the community?” an overwhelming 76% of the 1,214 who responded till November 10, 2016 said "Yes,” with only five voters responding with a "No.” Twenty-four percent responded "Not necessarily; find the most competent chairman.” In communication with Parsiana on November 5, Tantra, an information technology professional and vice chairman of The Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank Limited said that he started this poll because he had "just read an article where they had interviewed a few Parsis on this question and wondered why not ask the community at large?” Polling will close "when the issue is solved,” he laughed, possibly another four months, till the committee formed to name a successor comes up with candidates.  
Currently Mistry continues to be chairman of some Group companies including Tata Steel and Indian Hotels, the hospitality venture. Support for the erstwhile chairman has come from some quarters within the Group. Reporting on the business house’s  ailing European assets, and quoting an unnamed director of Tata Steel, Business Standard (BS) stated on November 1 that Mistry "had kept Tata, then chairman emeritus and current interim chairman, in the loop about the sale of sagging European operations and … no one should hold Mistry alone responsible for the decision.” On November 5, all six independent directors on the board of Indian Hotels Company Limited that included industrialist Nadir Godrej and former chairman of Hindustan Unilever Keki Dadiseth, "were unanimous in their praise for steps taken by Mistry in providing strategic direction and leadership to the company.”  Come November 10, the independent directors of Tata Chemicals too, including industrialist Nusli Wadia, backed Mistry. 
Ratan Tata wrote his second letter on November 1 to the employees of the Tata Group since his return as interim head saying that "the decision to change the leadership …was a well-considered and serious one for its board members,” and that it was a "difficult decision, made after careful and thoughtful deliberation… one the board believes was absolutely necessary for the future success of the Tata Group.” Mistry made charges of being reduced to "a ‘lame-duck’ chairman despite assurance of full independence by Tata and Kumar Bhattacharya, a member of the search committee when Mistry was offered the job in 2011,” stated BS of October 27. He also stated that there could be a potential write-down in net worth of USD 18 billion (Rs 120,231 crores) "due to five unprofitable businesses he inherited,” from Ratan, reported The Economic Times (ET) of October 26. In a statement on November 10, the Tatas accused Mistry of employing devious methods to take over Indian Hotels and other operating companies, with help from the independent directors.
The share prices of the 29 listed Tata Group companies fell after the announcement of the change of chairmanship with their market cap falling by Rs 27,500 crore in three days, The Mint reported the next day. The Group accounts for 7.2 % of the total market capitalization of Bombay Stock Exchange as on November 3, according to their website www.tata.com
Various Tata trusts led by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust hold approximately 66% of the equity of Tata Sons, while Pallon Mistry, father of Cyrus holds 18.5%. In an interview with television channel NDTV, reported on ndtv.com on October 26, the first by any serving trustee, V. R. Mehta of SDTT said that "under Mistry’s watch the entire Group was dependent on only two companies — Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and JLR (Jaguar Land Rover).” He added this "meant a downsizing of the philanthropic activities of the trusts, (which was) unacceptable to them.” Former additional solicitor general of India and advocate general of Maharashtra Darius Khambata has resigned as trustee of the SDTT. On November 9, however, quoting unnamed sources, The Mint reported that Mistry had proposed to more than double the dividend Tata Sons would pay its shareholders by 2020. "In a strategy document that was presented to the board three times, Mistry had recommended boosting the payout to about Rs 800 crore, compared with Rs 323 crore as of March 2016,” said the report.
Tata Sons has, on November 9, issued a notice calling for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to remove Mistry as a director in TCS, which many call the jewel in the crown of the Group. Notices calling for EGMs in five other companies —Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Chemicals and Tata Power — are expected to be issued soon.