Noel Tata Retires as Tata Investment Chairman After 16 Years; Bahram Vakil Takes Over

Noel Tata stepped down as Chairman and Director of Tata Investment Corporation at the close of business on Wednesday, 11 November, ending more than 16 years at the helm, Business Today reported. Bahram Vakil, the company’s Vice-Chairman and an Independent Director, became Chairman with effect from 12 November.

Tata joined the company’s board on 9 June 2004 and took over as Chairman on 24 June 2010. The company said the change follows the Tata Group Governance Guidelines, which set rules for board composition, committees and the retirement of directors. Tata turns 70 on 12 November, and the group has a retirement policy for non-executive directors.

The board has named him Chairman Emeritus from 12 November. Under the same policy, he is also stepping off the boards of Trent, Voltas, Tata International, Tata Steel and Titan. He remains Chairman of Tata Trusts and a Tata Trusts nominee director on the Tata Sons board.

Who is Bahram Vakil

Vakil is a co-founder of the law firm AZB & Partners and has worked extensively on restructuring, bankruptcy, infrastructure and project finance.

New independent director

The board has also appointed Abizer Shabbir Diwanji as an Additional Non-Executive Independent Director for five years, from 12 November 2026 to 11 November 2031, subject to shareholder approval. Diwanji founded NeoStrat Advisors LLP and earlier led the financial services practices at KPMG and EY.

The company said it had achieved significant milestones under Tata’s leadership but did not give figures.

Featured image: Bombay House, Tata Group Headquarters in Mumbai by AroundTheGlobe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources

• Business Today: Noel Tata steps down as Tata Investment Chairman after 16 years