Maya and Leah, daughters of Noel Tata, step up as Sir Ratan Tata Industrial Institute trustees – Times of India

Maya and Leah Tata, daughters of Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, have joined the board of trustees at Sir Ratan Tata Industrial Institute (SRTII), a subsidiary of Sir Ratan Tata Trust, which is a primary shareholder of Tata Sons.
Following the departure of Arnaz Kotwal and Freddy Talati, Maya and Leah Tata have assumed their positions as trustees of SRTII. While Noel Tata’s children now serve on boards of smaller Tata Trusts, they are yet to join the primary trusts-Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Allied Trusts, and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Allied Trusts.

Noel Tata, appointed as chairman of Tata Trusts in October 2024, has three children: Leah (39), Maya (36) and Neville (32). The trustee transition has sparked internal tension, with departing trustee Arnaz Kotwal expressing discontent in writing about the circumstances of her requested resignation.
“Since I am now in Dubai and after considerable thought, I have acceded to Burjis’s request but was very saddened that none of you reached out to speak with me directly about this matter and I was blindsided by this communication from a virtual stranger under the direction of his CEO, Sidharth Sharma, both of whom have no nexus to SRTI,” she wrote to fellow trustees, as reviewed by ET.
Burjis Taraporewala serves as a Tata Trusts executive, while Sidharth Sharma holds the position of CEO.
In correspondence with Taraporewala, Kotwal confirmed her resignation as requested by him on Noel Tata’s behalf, noting she had received communication from Mehli Mistry regarding the matter.
Tata Trusts offered no comment. A source familiar with the situation indicated that Leah and Maya Tata, who have been actively involved with SRTII operations, received trustee nominations from the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) board. According to SRTII’s Trust Deed, SRTT may nominate three of six board members.
They replaced Freddy Talati, currently at NCPA, who had resigned, and Arnaz Kotwal, who relocated to Dubai for work at VFS Global. The appointments aimed to secure locally available trustees in Mumbai with SRTII management experience, particularly given planned renovation works and revitalisation efforts.
Established in 1928 by Lady Navajbai Tata and the Stri Zarthostri Mandal, SRTII focuses on providing employment opportunities for underprivileged women through cooking, tailoring, embroidery and Montessori teacher training programmes.
The SRTT board, comprising Noel Tata, Vijay Singh, Venu Srinivasan, Darius Khambata, Jehangir H Jehangir and Mehli Mistry, unanimously approved Leah and Maya’s appointments.
Additional SRTII board trustees include Farida Tata, Aloo Tata, Mehnosh Kapadia and Dhan Khusrokhan. The involvement of younger generation members in smaller trusts is considered preparation for future group-level responsibilities.
Maya and Leah hold management positions within group companies – Maya at Tata Digital and Leah at Indian Hotels. Leah possesses a master’s in marketing from IE Business School and serves as vice president at Indian Hotels. Maya began at Tata Capital and currently works on the Tata Neu app team.
Kotwal serves as general counsel at VFS Global, having previously worked as VP-legal at Indian Hotels. Talati currently holds the position of chief operating officer at NCPA, following his role as chief executive officer at The Associated Building Co, which owns Bombay House.