Family & close associates: Meet the executors of Ratan Tata’s will

The death of Ratan Tata, the former Tata Group chairman, has sparked curiosity about his successor and fortune. While his half-brother Noel Tata has taken over as the new chairman of Tata’s philanthropic arm, Tata Trusts, the will of the influential magnate remains private.

Now, the names of executors of Tata’s will have come to light. The late entrepreneur had reportedly entrusted this responsibility to his close family and associates.

Let’s take a closer look.

Who are the executors of Tata’s will?

Tata named senior lawyer Darius Khambata, Mehli Mistry and his half-sisters Shireen and Deanna Jejeebhoy as executors of his will, as per an Economic Times (ET) report.

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Ratan Tata, who took the conglomerate to the global stage, died at the age of 86 on October 9 at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai.

As per the Hurun India Rich List 2024 released in August, Tata held a 0.83 per cent stake in Tata Sons and had a net worth of Rs 7,900 crore.

Tata wished to give a significant part of his wealth to charity and society, reported ET. Details of his will remain unknown.

Speaking to the financial newspaper, Ashish Kumar Singh, partner at Capstone Legal, said the executor of the will has to meet the last wishes of the deceased.

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“It is also a settled principle of law that until the will is not executed, the executors have the responsibility to maintain the assets in the same manner as the deceased person would have if they would have been alive. Generally, the deceased person places the executor in a position to dispose of any assets which are not specifically mentioned in the will as per their discretion but if no such specific mention is done, then the assets are divided as per personal law of the deceased person,” Singh told ET.

Darius Khambata

Senior lawyer Darius Khambata is the former advocate general of Maharashtra. As per Bloomberg, he advised Ratan Tata on succession matters.

Khambata recently represented the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), India’s markets regulator, in a legal dispute. He has also represented a government agency in the Adarsh Housing scam and the environment ministry against Lavasa Corporation in courts.

Khambata returned as a trustee at the two primary trusts of the Tata Group – the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust – last year. He had resigned from the trusts in late 2016 citing professional commitments.

“He (Khambata) is highly regarded for his knowledge and advice by the Tata Group and is seen as a close confidant of Ratan Tata,” a source told ET last year.

Khambata was seen as a frontrunner to succeed Ratan Tata before Noel Tata took over the reins of Tata Trusts, giving him indirect control of the $165 billion conglomerate.

Mehli Mistry

Mehli Mistry was among the top contenders to succeed Ratan Tata. A close confidante of the late entrepreneur, Mistry is part of the executive committee that oversees the functioning of Tata Trusts which owns 66 per cent of Tata Sons, the parent company.

He is also a board trustee for the two main Tata charities. Mistry, a director of the Meherji Pallonji Group, is an estranged cousin of the late Cyrus Mistry, former chairperson of the Tata Group.

Cyrus was ousted as chairman of Tata Sons in 2016 at a meeting of the Tata Sons board with the support of Ratan Tata. This started a years-long courtroom battle between the Tata Group and the Shapoorji Pallonji Group.

Mistry had backed Ratan Tata instead of his cousin during the controversy. He also cared for the octogenarian as his health declined in recent years, reported ET.

Mistry is on the board of Breach Candy Hospital, the Advanced Veterinary Care Foundation and the Tata Indian Institute of Social Skills.

Shireen and Deanna Jejeebhoy

Shireen and Deanna Jejeebhoy are half-sisters of Ratan Tata. They were born from the second marriage of Tata’s mother Soonoo to Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy.

Tata was known to be close to his younger sisters, an ex-Tata executive told ET.

Deanna reportedly served as a trustee on the board of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust in the 1990s and early 2000s. Both sisters are engaged in philanthropy.

With inputs from agencies