MAM
Noel Tata bows out of Voltas, a week after quitting Trent
Tata Trusts chairman wraps up his last AGM at the cooling-products maker, handing the baton to a leadership bench built on promotions and lateral hires
MUMBAI: Noel Tata is calling time on his chairmanship of Voltas, telling shareholders at the company’s 72nd annual general meeting on Tuesday that this was his final outing in the role — just a week after he announced an identical exit from Trent.
“As you might be aware, this will be my last annual general meeting as chairman,” Tata told shareholders, capping a run that began when he joined the Voltas board in January 2003 and took the chairman’s seat in September 2017, succeeding Ishaat Hussain.
The timing is no accident. Tata turns 70 in November, and under the Companies Act, 2013, a managing or whole-time director cannot continue past that age without special approval. He has clocked 40 years with the Tata group, and the group’s succession clock now appears to be ticking in earnest, having struck the same note at Trent’s AGM on 23 June.
But Tata was at pains to frame the departure as handover, not retreat. He said Voltas had built its next generation of leadership through a mix of internal promotions and lateral hires, and backed the incoming team to keep the company moving. “I am confident that with the close cooperation of seasoned practitioners and new talent, your company will continue to take big strides in all business segments,” he said.
The numbers gave him plenty to boast about on the way out. Voltas entered the new financial year on a strong footing, with its room air-conditioner business crossing one million units in sales in a record 81 days — a milestone Tata called proof of the company’s “undisputed market leadership.”
He thanked shareholders, employees and joint-venture partners for their support through his tenure, saying he was satisfied with where the company now stands.
Tata’s plate remains far from empty. He stays on as chairman of Tata Trusts, the largest shareholder in Tata Sons, and continues as non-executive chairman of Trent, Tata Investment Corporation, Tata International, Trent Hypermarket and Tata International West Asia DMCC, Dubai. He is also vice-chairman of Tata Steel and Titan Company Ltd.
Two chairmanships down, several to go — for Noel Tata, this exit isn’t a farewell tour. It’s a reshuffle.
