"Over the last two months there has been a definite move to damage my personal reputation and the reputation of this great group — the Tata Group. These days are very lonely. Newspapers are full of attacks, most of them unsubstantiated but nevertheless painful,” stated Tata Sons’ interim chairman Ratan Tata addressing the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of Tata Chemicals on December 23, 2016, according to media reports. Tata has been embroiled in a corporate battle with the former chairman of Tata Sons (TS) Cyrus Mistry and industrialist Nusli Wadia who served as an independent director at several Tata companies.
Lord Sushanta Kumar Bhattacharyya, who was on the selection committee that recommended Cyrus Mistry’s name as TS chairman stated in The Economic Times (ET) of December 24, 2016 that the new chairman "should work closely with (Tata) and tap his wisdom and experience. The TS chairman has to lead with empathy… Ratan Tata’s shoes are very difficult to fill.”
Cyrus Mistry who was ousted/resigned from the board of several Tata companies shifted his battle against Tata and the Group to the National Company Law Tribunal on December 20.
Tata headquarters: Bombay House
According to ET, "Mistry’s petition also said that he had initially declined Bhattacharyya’s request to be a candidate. Lord Bhattacharyya approached Mistry to be a candidate to chair the board of TS. However, Mistry declined. But as the search progressed, despite interviewing several global leaders, the selection committee was unable to locate a suitable candidate. And Mistry was again asked to reconsider. After consulting the promoter family and being assured that Mistry would be given a free hand, he accepted the offer in the broader interest of the group.”
Meanwhile, Wadia was removed from the board of Tata Steel at an EGM on December 21, with nearly 91% of shareholders present voting for his ouster.