Noel Tata: Tata Trusts’ New Chairman Has a Swiss Connection

Tata Trusts is the philanthropic arm of the Tatas as well as the (66%) majority shareholder of Tata Sons, which is the holding company of the Tata Group that includes iconic brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, Indian Hotels (Taj Hotels), Tetley Tea, Tanishq (one of India’s top 5 jewelry brands) and Titan, the biggest watchmaker in India. As of March 2024, Tata group’s 26 publicly listed enterprises recorded a collective market capitalization of $365 billion. Tata companies employ about 1 million people in 100 countries across 6 continents.

Noel Tata’s mother Simone Tata, was born and raised in Geneva and graduated from the University of Geneva, She was the second wife of Naval Tata who was also Ratan Tata’s father. She led the growth of Lakmé, India’s first indigenous cosmetics brand, launched soon after the country achieved independence. The name ‘Lakmé’ was inspired by the French adaptation of the name of the Indian goddess ‘Laxmi’. Simone Tata became Lakmé’s managing director in early 1960s and made it a popular household name in India. In 1998, Tata sold Lakmé to Hindustan Unilever Ltd. She also founded Trent Ltd, Tata Group’s primary retail arm, which has now become its fourth most valuable company.

Founded over a century ago, what sets Tata Trusts apart is not only its status as the majority stakeholder in the Tata Group but also its extraordinary philanthropic contributions—over $102.4 billion as of 2021. This far exceeds the $56.7 billion donated by Warren Buffett or the lifetime donations made by Bill Gates & Melinda Gates foundation.

Noel Tata who lives in Mumbai, holds education degrees from Sussex University in the United Kingdom and International Executive Programme (IEP) from INSEAD in France. His three children - 2 daughters Maya, Leah, and son Neville also hold executive and managerial positions in various Tata group companies.