The Sudden Demise of Cyrus Mistry

 

Source- India Today 

Cyrus P. Mistry, an iconic industrialist and former chairman of Tata Sons, was killed in a road accident about 150 km away from the city of Mumbai on Sunday, 4 September 2022, when the car that he was travelling in hit a road divider and eventually led to his passing at the age of   

“At the end of the day, everybody has to take the right decisions for the right decisions.”- Cyrus Mistry 

Early life and education 

Mistry was born to a Parsi family in then-Bombay (present-day Mumbai), Maharashtra, the younger son of Indian billionaire and construction tycoon Pallonji Mistry. His parents belong to the Zoroastrianism faith and in the 1930s Cyrus's grandfather, Shapoorji Mistry first acquired a stake in Tata Sons, which stands today as the rock supporting its extended subsidiaries. 

Mistry did his schooling at the prestigious Cathedral & John Connon School in South Mumbai. He studied at Imperial College London and completed a Bachelor of Engineering in civil engineering from the University of London in 1990. Further, in 1996, he completed his master's from London Business School and attained an International Executive Master in management from the University of London.  

Working with Tata Sons

Mistry joined the board of Tata Sons on 1 September 2006, after his father retired from it in 2005. He served as a Director of Tata Elxsi Limited for almost two decades, from 24 September 1990 to 26 October 2009, and was a Director of Tata Power Co. Ltd until 18 September 2006.

In 2013, Mistry was appointed the chairman of Tata Sons and in addition, he also became chairman of all major Tata companies including Tata Industries, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Power, Tata Teleservices, Indian Hotels, Tata Global Beverages, and Tata Chemicals. He served as the chairman of Tata Sons till October 2006. 

Cyrus’s achievements 

Cyrus Mistry did not fall short of his achievements in his only four-year-long tenure. He wanted to attain more profit and thus chased profit with all his might and hence, financial impairments taken in Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals, and Indian Hotels. Under his chairmanship, the Urea business of Tata Chemicals was sold to Norway-based Yara International’s Indian unit for Rs 2,670 crore, which was yet another breakthrough for the country. 

With some 70 per cent of Tata group revenue coming from its international operations, Mistry ensured a lion’s share of capital expenditure went in that direction too and thereby virtually guaranteed no problems beset the group’s functioning there. Under his leadership, the Tata group has expanded into the defence manufacturing business also. 

His Fatal Road Accident

The Kasa police reported that Cyrus Mistry and another person who has been identified as Jahangir Pandole were killed on the spot when the former’s car ran into a road divider on the Charoti bridge near Kasa village in the state of Maharashtra.  

It was further reported that the car was being driven by Anahita Pandora and her husband Darius Pandole was seated in the front passenger seat. The accident's impact injured both of them and they were rushed to the Rainbow Hospital in Vapi. Dr Anahita is a gynaecologist working with the Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai and her husband Darius is a businessman who has served as an independent director at Tate Global Beverages.

 

Early investigations of the road accident have revealed that Cyrus was not wearing his seatbelt and that added a catalyst to his death. The seat belt was worn by the front seated passengers and hence they did suffer fatal injuries as against the backseat passengers who lost their lives in this tragedy. 

The curtain airbags did not open for Cyrus Mistry and Jahangir Pandole because they both were not wearing their seat belts and hence could not avoid the impact when the car hit the road divider. The investigation is ongoing and the police are still analysing all the loopholes that could have led to this. 

Conclusion 

The police are currently analyzing the footage captured by the CCTV cameras near the spot and the car is being investigated to ascertain if it had any mechanical issues. They are also trying to retrieve data from a chip assembled in the vehicle - similar to a black box in aeroplanes. Samples have also been conducted from the accidental site by the forensics. 

Written by Chitra Gangwani