Venu Srinivasan, Mehli Mistry set for lifetime trusteeship as Tata Trusts’ 2024 resolution removes tenure limits

By doing away with tenure limits, the October 2024 resolution effectively institutionalised lifetime trusteeships, subject only to review when a member turns 75.

Venu Srinivasan and Mehli Mistry are set to continue as lifetime trustees of Tata Trusts following the implementation of a landmark governance resolution passed on October 17, 2024, that removed tenure limits for all trustees. Srinivasan’s reappointment, formally proposed by Mistry earlier this week, on October 19, 2025,  marks the first instance of the new framework being put into effect.

According to the confidential minutes of the joint meeting of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust a year back, reviewed by Moneycontrol, the trustees had unanimously resolved that every member would be reappointed upon the expiry of their tenure “without any limit being attached to the period of reappointment and in accordance with law.”

“The Trustees recognise that they are all equally responsible, charged with public duty and specifically tasked by Mr. Ratan N Tata,” the resolution stated, marking a decisive shift in how the Tata Trusts — which collectively hold a majority stake in Tata Sons — are governed.

By doing away with tenure limits, the October 2024 resolution effectively institutionalised lifetime trusteeships, subject only to review when a member turns 75. The minutes describe the decision as part of a “moment of transition between two eras,” designed to ensure continuity and stability in the post–Ratan Tata phase of the Trusts’ leadership.

Resolution on Srinivasan’s reappointment circulated on Saturday. Mehli Mistry's reappointment is yet to be confirmed.

This week could prove pivotal for Tata Trusts — and, by extension, for Tata Sons — as the terms of trustees Venu Srinivasan and Mehli Mistry come up for renewal. Once approved, these appointments are effectively for life. On Saturday, October 18, Tata Trusts circulated a resolution seeking the renewal of Srinivasan’s term as trustee and vice-chairman on the board of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT). His current term ends Monday.

The October 17, 2024,  document also recorded that the governance overhaul created a centralised structure linking the Trusts and Tata Sons. It empowered an executive committee comprising Noel Tata, Mehli Mistry, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh to take all key decisions on Tata Sons’ shareholding and the Trusts’ operational affairs.

It also ruled out any overlap in the chairmanships of Tata Trusts and Tata Sons, while endorsing Noel Tata to serve both as chairman of Tata Trusts and as a director on the Tata Sons board.

The year-ago resolution emphasized that these provisions are “interlinked and interconnected,” warning that any departure would “alter the foundation of the new governance regime” following Ratan Tata’s tenure. It further stated that any trustee voting against these collectively agreed principles “will be in breach of their commitment and is not fit and proper to serve on Tata Trusts.”

People familiar with the matter said Mehli Mistry’s formal proposal and Srinivasan’s reappointment earlier this week give operational effect to the 2024 resolution, confirming that the process of lifetime extensions has now begun.

The move consolidates the continuity plan envisaged by Ratan Tata, placing Noel Tata at the centre of a long-term governance model that binds the Trusts and Tata Sons in a unified structure.

If fully implemented, the framework would cement Tata Trusts’ control over Tata Sons while granting its trustees unprecedented tenure security — a shift that could define the group’s power dynamics for decades.