Cyrus Mistry, former Tata Group Chairman, dies in road accident

Former chairman of Tata Group Cyrus Mistry has died in a road accident in Maharashtra's Palghar district neighbouring Mumbai on Sunday. Cyrus Mistry was travelling from Ahmedabad to Mumbai in a Mercedes car, according to reports. The accident took place at around 3:30 PM after his car lost balance while crossing a flyover on Surya river on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.

According to Police, the other two persons travelling with Mistry, including the car driver, were injured, who have been shifted to a hospital in Gujarat.

Cyrus Pallonji Mistry was an Indian-born Irish businessman and former chairman of Tata Group, from 2012 to 2016. He was the sixth chairman of the group, and only the second to not bear the surname Tata. Mistry was the son of Pallonji Mistry, the patriarch of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which is the single largest shareholder of Tata Sons with an 18.4% stake in the company, which is the principal promoter of various group companies like Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Indian Hotels Co., and others. In 2016, Mistry was removed as Tata Sons chairman on the grounds that he had lost the trust of the company’s promoters, the Tata Trusts, which is a clutch of philanthropic trusts that collectively own around 66% in Tata Sons.

Mistry joined the family construction company, Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Ltd as a director in 1991. He was the managing director of Shapoorji Pallonji & Company, which is part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. He was born to a Parsi family in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, the younger son of Indian billionaire Pallonji Mistry by his wife Patsy Perin Dubash.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over Mistry's demise. “The untimely demise of Shri Cyrus Mistry is shocking. He was a promising business leader who believed in India’s economic prowess. His passing away is a big loss to the world of commerce and industry. Condolences to his family and friends. May his soul rest in peace,” tweeted PM.

Reacting to the tragic news, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, tweeted, “Deeply anguished & shocked by the sudden passing away of Cyrus Mistry. Indian industry has lost one of its shining stars whose contributions to India's economic progress will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to his family & friends.”

Anand Mahindra, the chairman of Mahindra Group, says, “Hard to digest this news. I got to know Cyrus well during his all-too-brief tenure as the head of the House of Tata. I was convinced he was destined for greatness. If life had other plans for him, so be it, but life itself should not have been snatched away from him. Om Shanti.”