Mallika Srinivasan’s absence at TGB board meet raises eyebrows

MUMBAI: The absence of Mallika Srinivasan from the Tata Global Beverages board meeting chaired by Cyrus Mistry on Wednesday has raised curiosity among those watching the developments at the Tata Group.

It was the first board meeting held by Mistry after group holding company Tata Sons fired him as chairman. Mallika’s husband Venu Srinivasan, the chairman of Chennai-based TVS Motor, is an independent director on the Tata Sons board that made the decision on Monday to remove Mistry.

While the speculation, as indicated by a top ranking industry executive, was that she skipped it as it would have been uncomfortable for her to attend the meeting held by a chairman ousted just two days earlier by a board that included her husband, Mallika denied it.

"This is completely wrong. I am in the US attending an AGCO board meeting that was fixed a year ago," she said, responding to ET’s request for comment.

Mallika, 56, is the chairperson of Tractors & Farm Equipment. She is an independent director at Tata Steel and Tata Global Beverages.

An independent board member said Mallika is a strong entrepreneur in her own right and capable to handle any tough situation. "How many meets would she avoid? Maybe this would be one-off case since the development happened just two days before the meeting," he said.

Executives aware of the proceedings on Wednesday said there was nothing unusual at the board meeting conducted by Mistry.