Tata to form new group management structure within days, old-timers recalled to give it shape

Ratan Tata, interim chairman of India’s Tata Sons conglomerate, will outline a revamped top management structure for the $100 billion group within days, a person close to the company told Reuters on Tuesday. The new structure is being put in place after Tata Sons last week removed Cyrus Mistry as chairman, and disbanded his advisory Group Executive Council, triggering a very public spat between Tata and Mistry. [caption id=“attachment_1194789” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ratan Tata, incumbent chairman, Tata Sons. PTI[/caption] In a letter to employees on the day Mistry was ousted, Tata said “a new management structure is being put in place,” with a selection committee formed to find a new chairman. “The new management structure that (Ratan) Tata promised will soon be put in place, and it will speak a lot about the future of the group,” the source said, asking not to be named as the matter is private. Details on the structure and the personnel are being finalised, the person said. A spokesman for Tata Sons said he was not aware of any such development, and declined to comment further. Setting up the new management structure will be one of Tata’s first steps since he returned as interim chairman, four years after stepping down and appointing Mistry in his place. Mistry’s advisory team included five people in key roles such as group heads of business development, strategy and public affairs. Two of those five - Mukund Rajan, Tata’s brand custodian, and Harish Bhat, who oversaw Tata’s retail ventures - are likely to be part of the new management structure, the source said. The other three members of Mistry’s advisory council have resigned. Tata veteran Prasad Menon, who last served as chairman of Vistara, an airline venture with Singapore Airlines, has been brought in to help Tata put the new structure in place, the source said. Earlier on Tuesday, CNBC-TV18 reported that S Ramadorai stepped down as chairman of India’s National Skills Development Council (NSDC) and National Skills Development Agency (NSDA) amid speculation of his return to Tata. Ramadorai is also chair of AirAsia India, another airline joint venture Tata has with Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd. A source at the NSDA said Ramadorai tendered his resignation in September citing ill health. The source was not aware if that move was related to a possible return to Tata Sons.