First Tata Sons AGM since Ratan Tata's passing: What's on the agenda?

The Tata Sons annual general meeting will have six representatives from Tata Trusts, including three children of Noel Tata, who is the single largest individual shareholder of the company

Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, has scheduled its 107th annual general meeting (AGM) for August 14 at the Bombay House, the group’s corporate office in Mumbai. The meeting, which is set to start from 2.30 pm, assumes significance as it will be the first AGM after the passing of former group Chairman Ratan Naval Tata.

The upcoming AGM will review and approve the group’s audited standalone and consolidated financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2025. It will approve the dividend on the company’s preference shares and ordinary shares for the financial year 2024-25.

Noel Tata as a non-executive director

One of the key agendas of the meeting will be appointing Noel Tata as a non-executive director to the board of the company. “Noel Tata, who was appointed by the Board of Directors as an Additional Director of the Company with effect from October 22, 2024, is eligible for appointment and has consented to act as a director,” the company said in a notice issued to its shareholders.

 

Broader representation from the trust

Under Ratan Tata’s leadership, only he attended the Tata Sons AGM on behalf of Tata Trusts, despite the Trusts holding a 66 per cent stake. However, the upcoming AGM will feature six representatives from the parent, including three children of Noel Tata, according to a report by Mint. This marks a change in how the group has conducted AGMs so far.

Holding 1 per cent of Tata Sons’ shares, Noel Tata is also the single largest individual shareholder of the company, the report said.

Other key appointments

The upcoming meeting will also see the re-appointment of Venu Srinivasan and Saurabh Agrawal as directors and Anita Marangoly George’s re-appointment as an independent director. The re-appointment of Ajay Piramal was missing from the report. Both Venu Srinivasan and Ajay Piramal came on Tata Sons’ board in August 2016.

Not just routine business

Apart from the routine procedures, this AGM is expected to offer the first glimpse of Noel Tata’s approach to governing Tata Sons. His increased representation may influence the group’s decision-making in the coming years, making this meeting one of the most closely followed AGMs in the company’s recent history.