The next chapter at Tata Trusts
With the appointment of son Neville and trusted aide Bhaskar Bhat, Noel Tata inducts the next generation and further strengthens his grip on the Trusts
Last Updated: Nov 12, 2025, 10:48 IST3 min
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It was an announcement that landed quietly—no fanfare, no headlines screaming about generational change but a brief note from Tata Trusts. But inside those few lines was the clearest sign yet that the custodians of one of India’s most enduring legacies are preparing for the future.
The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, the largest of the group’s philanthropic entities, named Neville Tata and Bhaskar Bhat as new trustees for a three-year term. Alongside that, Venu Srinivasan’s role as vice chairman was renewed—but now for a fixed tenure, rather than a lifetime appointment. In the conservative, deliberately slow-moving world of the Tata Trusts, that’s the equivalent of a tectonic shift, one that aligns the trustees more closely with Noel Tata.
For those who watch the Tata group closely, these moves matter because of who the Trusts are and what they own. The philanthropic arms hold roughly two-thirds of Tata Sons, the holding company that anchors India’s most influential conglomerate. Any change at the Trusts’ level is, over time, felt at Bombay House and then percolates downwards to the boardrooms of large group companies—Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services.
And so, Neville Tata’s arrival at the table is significant—not because he is Noel Tata’s son (though that lineage will always be noted), but because he represents something the Trusts have lacked for decades: Youth. At 32, Neville Tata has spent his early career at Trent Ltd, the retail arm chaired by his father, helping shape Zudio and Star Bazaar, the value fashion and grocery chain that have quietly become one of the group’s biggest consumer success stories. His inclusion signals that the Tata family is, for the first time since Ratan Tata’s retirement, thinking seriously about generational continuity on the philanthropic side of the empire.
If Noel Tata’s elevation to chair the Trusts last year marked consolidation, Neville Tata’s appointment marks succession—an acknowledgment that the Trusts, like the companies they fund, need to induct future leaders early rather than rely on legacy. He is in all likelihood being groomed for larger roles both at the operational and board level.
Bhaskar Bhat, also a trusted hand, and Noel Tata go a long way. The two spent several years on the board of Titan and are said to have a good working relationship.
Then there is Venu Srinivasan, the industrialist who transformed TVS Motor into a global two-wheeler brand. Srinivasan has long been one of the few non-Tata voices deeply embedded in the Trusts. He was seen as a stabilising presence during years of internal turbulence, including the messy legal fallout from Cyrus Mistry’s removal as Tata Sons chairman. He along with Noel Tata voted against the reappointment of Mehli Mistry to the Trusts. Mistry, who was said to be mulling a challenge to the vote, hasn’t acted as yet. Now, under new rules introduced by the Maharashtra government limiting lifetime trustees, Srinivasan’s term has been regularised to three years.
Neville Tata’s inclusion ensures the family’s emotional and historical connection remains intact. Srinivasan’s renewed tenure ensures continuity and governance discipline. And together, they symbolise a balancing act that has defined the Tata story for more than a century: How to modernise without losing identity. Meanwhile, Noel Tata is making a beachhead into large Tata group companies. He’s been appointed vice chairman of Tata Steel and Titan in addition to being chairman of Trent, Tata International, Voltas and Tata Investment Corporation. The next few months could see him take more board positions except the chairmanship of Tata Sons, which, since a 2022 change, cannot have the same chairman as Tata Trusts.
For now, the change will barely create a ripple beyond the quiet corridors of the Trusts’ office in Mumbai. But, over time, these subtle shifts—of tenure, of generation, of governance—will shape how the Tata group itself evolves.
In the Tata universe, revolutions are rarely loud (the Mistry exit being a notable exception). They arrive, as this one did, wrapped in a press release (as Mistry’s appointment arrived) and worded in the calm, deliberate tone of an institution that knows its greatest strength lies in its ability to change slowly—and permanently.
First Published: Nov 12, 2025, 11:01
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