Tata Group's Chief of Human Resources NS Rajan resigned from his post on Friday, reported the Economic Times. He is the first person to quit after Tata Sons sacked its chairperson Cyrus Mistry. According to reports, Rajan was handpicked by Mistry to overseeing the policy changes within the group.
The Tata Group has yet to announce its new CHRO. However, companies under the Tata Group will not be directly affected by the development because they have their respective human resources head. Earlier, Rajan was a global leader at E&Y, a multi-national professional services based out of London. He has also worked with Ranbaxy, Asian Paints and ABC Consultants in the past. He joined the Tata Group in 2013.
Meanwhile, ousted chairperson Mistry on Friday said that the Tata Sons board and a few nominee directors of Tata Trusts were aware of Tata Power’s plan to buy renewable energy assets from Welspun Energy Ltd. “It is surprising that Mr Tata has sought to justify Monday’s conduct by making vague public statements that are contrary to his knowledge and contrary to the records of the Tata Group,” Mistry added.
According to him, the Tata Power-Welspun deal, worth Rs 9,300 crore, was signed on June 12 and the acquisition was completed by September. “The Tata Sons board unanimously approved the transaction,” he had said earlier.
Mistry’s comment gains significance in the backdrop of the Tata board's claims that there were trust problems with Mistry. “Trustees of the Tata Trusts were increasingly getting concerned with the growing trust deficit with Mr Mistry,” read the statement issued by Tata Sons on Thursday. In his letter, Mistry had also claimed the conglomerate faced $18 billion (Rs 1.15 lakh crore approximately) in write-downs or reduction in value of assets.
The letter said he had inherited “debt-laden” ventures of Indian Hotels Co, Tata Motors Ltd’s passenger-vehicle operations, Tata Steel Ltd’s European business, and part of the group’s power unit and its telecommunications subsidiary during his tenure as chairperson.
On October 24, the board decided to push Mistry out after a massive fallout, with Tata’s shares falling and the company anticipating legal action by the former executive. Ratan Tata has taken over Mistry’s post temporarily, the company said. The Tatas also filed caveats seeking a notice from Mistry “fearing legal action” against their move to dismiss him from the post after four years. A caveat is a preventive measure that disallows courts from hearing matters without both parties being notified about them first.
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!