New Delhi: Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, passed away at 86 in Mumbai on late Wednesday night. He was admitted to the Breach Candy hospital for routine age-related checkups on Monday but was moved into intensive care hours prior to his death on Wednesday. The Tata Group confirmed its former Chairman's death in an official notification following a post on X by RPG Group head Harsh Goenka.
Though Ratan Tata assured well-wishers there was no concern for worry through an X post on Monday, his hospitalisation drew attention to the next generation of Tata heirs, likely to emerge as future leaders of the salt-to-software conglomerate.
Ratan Tata never married and has no children, prompting speculation about the future leadership of the Tata Group, one of India's largest and oldest conglomerates.
The next gen Tata scions are Leah, Maya, and Neville—children of Noel Naval Tata, Ratan Tata’s half-brother.
Leah Tata, 39, the eldest, holds a Master’s degree in Marketing from IE Business School in Spain. She joined the Tata Group in 2006 as an assistant sales manager at Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces and now serves as Vice President at The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL).
Maya Tata, 35, the younger daughter, started her career at Tata Capital as an analyst in the group's flagship financial services company.
Neville Tata, 32, has taken charge as head of Star Bazaar, the hypermarket unit of Trent Ltd, which houses the Tata Group’s retail businesses.
Ratan Tata's parents, Naval Tata and Sooni Tata, divorced in the 1940s, after which Naval married Swiss national Simone Tata in 1955. This union brought forth Noel Tata, who now stands as a potential heir to Ratan's extensive business empire.
