[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

But economic times report suggest that he has been Removed! All the more shocking. The economictimes link suggests that turnover had reduced and net debts had increased but they have not termed that as the reson for the removal.

IIRC he was part of the Chairman selection committee & opted-in himself. They can't compel he be removed unless he agreed to.

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

Really shocked by decision. Personally I feel Ratan Tata is too old to be even interim chairman...

He's been actively involved in investing in several businesses and even startups.

To those saying he sold assets & built debts, building a good company costs good money, can't just keep stashing while customers cry. Good customer service is the the most important CSR.

Edit : Shapoorji Pallonji Group will contest his removal.
Link

[heydj]

Mystery deepens. Reports suggest it was due to the way Cyrus Mistry worked, but this should not be a reason as he was groomed from inside hence everyone must be aware the way he works and interacts with people.

Another reason suggested overall value of group decreased from 108 billion to 103 billion, this again is a very shortsighted approach. I doubt seasoned business men would do this.

Selling of UK steel business cited as a reason, again does not make sense as this was backed by sound economics.

I think it all came down to his trying to change group too fast and too soon, that too with board members and group CEO's elected by Ratan Tata still in place. Instead should have waited it out by getting his desired people at correct places. After all a king cannot survive if all his ministers are non supportive.

Or it could be something very simple and Tata group fearing adverse news took the decision.

[Saanil]

Any idea as to why Cyrus Mistry resigned? Is it because of poor performance? I heard someone that he resigned due to the Tata-DoCoMo issues. I doubt that is the reason but just wanted to know if there is any concrete reason for this move.

[Sree73]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Any idea as to why Cyrus Mistry resigned? Is it because of poor performance? I heard someone that he resigned due to the Tata-DoCoMo issues. I doubt that is the reason but just wanted to know if there is any concrete reason for this move.

He did not resign. He was replaced. That is the wording from the communication. Which means that he was removed without the 15 days notice period.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by Sree73

He did not resign. He was replaced. That is the wording from the communication. Which means that he was removed without the 15 days notice period.

Indeed he was replaced and now things look to be taking an ugly turn. He is planning to move Bombay High Court. Meanwhile Ratan Tata is back at top. Let's see how things roll now.

http://Cyrus Mistry to challenge Tat...n/IDcv8a/a19li

[FrozeninTime]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

IIRC he was part of the Chairman selection committee & opted-in himself. They can't compel he be removed unless he agreed to.


He's been actively involved in investing in several businesses and even startups.

To those saying he sold assets & built debts, building a good company costs good money.

...

I have to disagree with you. He has been removed to put it lightly. Ratan has done more harm to Tata group than good. His ambitious expansion nearly ruined the group. Take for example Corus, Taj Hotels investments, which are now backfiring . He has taken lot of reckless decision which is nothing new and has failed to understand market dynamics since he joined group in early 1980s . I can give you countless example but sticking to automobiles his gamble on nano and its aftermath who can forget. Unnecessary buying Jaguar instead of investing same in R&D in Tata motors. Building a company requires investments in your company not buying assets in the name of making company strong.

Have you ever seen Japanese auto companies buying belly up foreign companies like Jaguar? The answer is no. Because investing the same money in your company will profit you more than buying these so called premium brands.

Even after so many years what has Jaguar given Tata in terms of R&D one has to inspect minutely. Had Tata invested same money and resources in Tata motors car division, we wouldn't have seen such a sorry state.

Cyrus has consolidated the company and tried to remove old guard which I feel has ruffled feathers of Tata sons trustees

Sorry to say Ratan Tata's time is up. He may be greatest businessman and Angel to so called start ups but he should have set an example by retiring gracefully and not meddling in politics and company affairs.
Also what is an ex IFS officer doing in selection of new chairman. What experience does he have if I put rather bluntly?

Whole episode has been handled rather very poorly and clearly shows feudal structure of company rather than a professionally managed company. I only hope this internal battles for power struggle doesn't affect the future product decision in Tata Motors.

[GrammarNazi]

Tatas even removed Cyrus Mistry interview from the group website! This is not just an oust, this is sort of a planned ambush.

Imagine, they took SO MUCH from Shapoorji Pallonji & now they just kicked Cyrus. Many finding it hard to believe RNT would do such a thing.

PM Modi called in & apparently RNT had to explain why things happened.

One thing I've been personally advocating about company form of business in general is that all this corporate governance & board of directors is nonsense. Only owners matter. This sort of displays that.

Let's see.

Edit :

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

I have to disagree with you...

I think you misunderstood me. I'm 100% in agreement with the things you said.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by nkghai

Former Fin Minister Mr P Chidambram legal opinion taken before removal.

No doubt there is going to be a courtroom battle soon in the coming days/weeks either before the Company Law Tribunal or the Bombay High Court!

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

This is not just an oust, this is sort of a planned ambush.

Considering they sought legal opinions from 3-4 different legal luminaries, it seems to be a planned move.

[heydj]

Any decent company allows employees to resign rather than fire them. Even when CEO does things very wrong companies prefer a resignation.

E.g. I believe Yahoo or some other company CEO faked his degrees and this was found out, he resigned.

What happened that caused such a extreme step? Moreover not good for Indian business as is this the unprofessional conduct we want to portray across the World.

Only thing that makes sense is Cyrus was asked to resign and he refused thinking board will never dare fire him. If from here he does not take legal steps to clear his name people will only think he is hiding something and that will have spillover effect on his companies.

On a side note I wonder what kind of golden handcuff Tata Group will have to pay out.

& if anyone ever gets fired and is asked in subsequent job interview why what happened? He can always say I had unprofessional board like Cyrus. Hope your company culture is better!

Also if Cyrus is reading this, have heart even Steve Jobs was forced out from Apple initially only to be bought back in the company later.

[invidious]

From what I understand 2 firms handled by Cyrus Mistry have upset the board - the Corus Steel saga in the UK and the DoCoMo breakup in India. Mistry himself is not an outsider - his family is related to the Tatas and the Shapoorji Pallonji family owns a significant % of the holding company Tata & Sons - about 20%. Ratan Tata himself owns little less than 1% but he does control a bunch of trusts which own quite a bit of the holding company. I was surprised they chose Mistry over Noel Tata in the first place.

I do believe the buying of JLR was the right decision considering they got a pretty good deal. Of course many of Ratan Tata's other decisions need a case study each but it was admirable the way he got rid of Russi Mody and another senior satrap - I forgot his name.

This saga should be interesting because the Pallonji group itself is no pushover.

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by PPS

No doubt there is going to be a courtroom battle soon in the coming days/weeks either before the Company Law Tribunal or the Bombay High Court!

100%, solid battle.

Apparently Tata's have enlisted Harish Salve & (the interestingly political) Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Cyrus Mistry has his father in law, Sr. Adv. Iqbal Chagla, no pushover.

Considering they sought legal opinions from 3-4 different legal luminaries, it seems to be a planned move.

Yes, but I called it an ambush because they didn't give a 15 day notice. Basic decency, chairman afterall.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Apparently Tata's have enlisted Harish Salve & (the interestingly political) Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Saw that in the news. Manu Singhvi was in the Bombay High Court last week for the Hiranandani family dispute matter. Its going to be very hectic as the Diwali vacation is approaching later this week. I'm sure there's going to be a battalion of Senior Advocates on either side.

[airbender]

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

Unnecessary buying Jaguar instead of investing same in R&D in Tata motors.

Mr. Ratan Tata did commit a lot of mistakes but JLR actually turned out to be good one. Though his judgement of buying a company 10 times bigger than his is always questionable. Your example of Japs not buying JLR does not seem to hold water. JRL is a competitor for them and gives them nothing worth if bought.

I think something about Cyrus would have come to the notice of the board. We have to wait and see. Ratan Tata's decisions might not always be right but he is a man of unquestionable integrity. Tata group is known to treat their executives very well. Lot of them remain with the group for their life.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

. Ratan has done more harm to Tata group than good. His ambitious expansion nearly ruined the group.

I agree partially - it was lousy timing to be taking these actions at an age when he wasn't going to be available to execute these ambitious strategies. And the old question of how to have one person lead an over diversified conglomerate has never been addressed - it is a job that no one person can do.

And this move has been very badly executed, unless there was a very serious integrity issue involved, but that does not seem to be the case.

[jetsetgo08]

Another courtroom battle. Do we have a movie in the making?

Expecting the Tata Group's shares to tank for a couple of days, before further air is cleared out on Cyrus "Mystery".