Ratan Tata, Cyrus Mistry call on Commerce Minister Anand Sharma

NEW DELHI: A month after announcing his successor, Tata Group chief Ratan Tata today met Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma along with Cyrus P Mistry in what has been described a meeting of "introduction".

While Tata and Mistry declined to speak to the waiting media at Udyog Bhavan on the agenda of their meeting with Sharma, official sources said: "It was just a meeting to introduce his (Tata's) successor".

On November 23, Tata Sons had announced Mistry, who was then the Managing Director at Shapoorji Pallonji Group, as Tata's successor to the head of over USD 80 billion conglomerate Tata Group.

The 43-year-old Mistry, the son of Pallonji Mistry, Chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group that holds 18 per cent stake in Tata Sons, will take over the reins when Tata retires in December, 2012.

Ratan Tata would hang his boots in December, 2012 when he turns 75 -- the retirement age fixed by the group that has presence in businesses ranging from salt to software.

Tata Sons had constituted a five-member committee in August last year to scout for a successor to Ratan Tata.

The committee comprised Tata Sons Director R K Krishna Kumar, Tata Sons former Vice-Chairman N A Soonawala, Group Director Cyrus Mistry, Group Adviser and Lawyer Shirin Bharucha and influential British businessman Lord Kumar Bhattacharya.