In Letter To Board, Cyrus Mistry Reveals How TATA Will Lose Without Him

In an email letter to the Board Members of Tata Sons, former company chairman Cyrus Mistry has written about the terms of his removal.

Mistry called his removal "unparalleled in the annals of corporate history."

Even the terms of his appointment had been changed to make him a "lame duck chairman", he wrote.
"Prior to my appointment, I was assured that I would be given a free-hand. After my appointment, the Articles of Association was modified, changing the rule of engagement between the Trusts, the Board of Tata Sons, the Chairman, and the operating companies," Mistry said in the letter.

?"The sudden action and lack of explanation has led to all manner of speculation and has done my and the group's reputation immeasurable harm" He said the board had shown a lack of "corporate governance and a failure of the directors to discharge their fiduciary duty" to the company's stakeholders.

?'A debt-laden enterprise saddled with losses'

"...inherited a debt-laden enterprise saddled with losses and singled out Indian Hotels, Tata Motors' passenger-vehicle operations, Tata Steel's European business, as well as part of the group's power unit and its telecommunications subsidiary as legacy hotspots," Bloomberg quoted Mr. Mistry saying in the email.

He also pointed out what he considered weak points for the company, including foreign acquisition strategy, as well as Indian Hotels, Tata Motors' passenger-vehicle operations, Tata Steel's European business, as well as part of the group's power unit and its telecommunications subsidiary. He refered to them as "legacy hotspots".

These were facing challenges, despite the company investing Rs 1,96,000 crore into them. Their actual valuation could lead Tata to write down about 1.18 trillion rupees over time.
The letter cited the flop Nano car, which, even at its high point cost the company 10 billion Rupees.

"As there is no line of sight to profitability for the Nano, any turnaround strategy for the company requires to shut it down"...Emotional reasons alone have kept us away from this crucial decision."

Mistry was was abruptly removed as Chairman from the company in a shock that shocked businesses, investors, and the general public who consider the Tata empire a paragon of good business practices.