Neville Tata takes charge as head of Star Bazaar, marking next generation leadership in Tata Retail

Neville Tata, 32, has taken charge as head of Star Bazaar, signalling the rise of the next generation of Tatas. Star Bazaar is the hypermarket unit of Trent Ltd, which houses the Tata Group’s retail businesses.

Neville is the son of Trent Ltd chairman Noel Tata, the half-brother of Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata who is chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, the conglomerate’s holding company. Neville was on the board of Trent Hypermarket, the grocery retailing subsidiary, as a non-executive director but has stepped down from that post as he takes on a more executive role, executives close to the development said.

He was associated with the hypermarket business a few years back, then went overseas to study, sources said. Trent Ltd has identified its hypermarket business as the next growth driver. P Venkatesalu is the CEO of Trent Ltd.


Joined in 2016
Trent also houses Westside, Zudio and Zara.

An alumnus of the Bayes Business School, Neville became a part of Trent Ltd in 2016, heading packaged food and beverages before managing Zudio, regarded as a runaway success and now among the biggest apparel brands in the country.

“Neville may be closely mentored by Noel Tata as he takes charge of this business. Eventually, he may take charge as the CEO of the hypermarket or as an executive director,” said the executives cited above.

Noel Tata’s daughters are also involved in Tata Group firms. Leah Tata, 39, was recently given charge of the Gateway brand at Indian Hotels, where she’s worked for some years. Maya Tata, 36, who has interests in new-age analytics and technology, works at Tata Digital.

Leah, Maya and Neville have also been brought on board as trustees of five trusts that are affiliates of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust. Noel Tata is also chairman of Voltas and a trustee of the Tata Trusts, which holds a 66% stake in Tata Sons.

Trent Hypermarket, an equal joint venture between Tata and British retailer Tesco, runs 66 Star Bazaar hyper and supermarkets.