India's business world was shaken up on Monday after Tata Sons suddenly decided to sack its chairman, Cyrus Mistry, and reinstate Ratan Tata as an interim chief until a new candidate has been selected. The company announced the news in a terse press release on Monday afternoon, giving no indication regarding the reason for Tata's sacking.
"Tata Sons today announced that its Board has replaced Mr. Cyrus P. Mistry as Chairman of Tata Sons. The decision was taken at a Board meeting held here today," the group said in a statement. A new selection committee, including Ratan Tata but not featuring Mistry, has also been set up to look for a candidate to replace him in a matter of four months.
Cyrus Mistry took over as Ratan Tata's hand-picked successor in 2011, only the second non-Tata to run the group holding company – which oversees Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Power among others. His appointment was lauded as an unusual attempt for a major Indian conglomerate to go with a professional, rather than keeping the job within the family. That now seems to have unraveled, with Ratan Tata once again taking over, although this has been done along with the setting up of a new selection committee.
The news happened to come on the same days as turmoil within another mostly family-run organisation, the Samajwadi Party.
This prompted plenty of humour on Twitter with a rather familiar joke.
Not all of it was Samajwadi humour either. The names of both Tata Sons and its now former-chairman offered plenty of wordplay as well.
For those who thought this might be the sign of some potential opportunities, or trends within the industry, there was plenty of fodder to chew on.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!