The connection between Mehli Mistry and Ratan Tata is more than business and boardroom; it is one of trust, loyalty, and silent companionship. They were not only neighbours because they lived in the iconic Bakhtawar Building in Colaba and shared a zip code, but through the decades, a friendship developed between them and would later evolve into one of the most significant unions in Indian corporate history.
With the circle of Ratan Tata decreasing in his later years, Mistry was one of the few people the leader engaged in talks with, who remained during changes and crises.
His commitment was rewarded in ways that few can boast about, he was made a director at RNT Associates, a personal investment company owned by Tata, in 2023 and appointed as one of four executors of Tata’s will. Tata too, in a very personal manner, bequeathed to Mistry his home at Alibaug and three inherited guns, symbols of a friendship founded on unshaken faith and reciprocating respect.
Family Ties And The Cyrus Mistry Connection
- Mehli Mistry is a first cousin of the late Cyrus Mistry, former Tata Sons chairman.
- Though close in youth, the two reportedly became estranged long before Cyrus’s ouster in 2016.
- Cyrus Mistry’s camp accused Mehli’s companies of benefiting from preferential Tata Power contracts, an allegation denied by both Mehli and the Tata Group.
- The episode further established Mehli as a staunch Ratan Tata loyalist, creating tension within the Parsi business community.