Noel Tata moves to induct Choksey onto NCPA board

MUMBAI: Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata has moved to bring Vera Choksey (née Tata), a shareholder in Tata Sons and sister of HDFC Bank executive director Jimmy Tata, onto the board of Mumbai’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), according to people familiar with the matter.Noel wrote to NCPA chairman Khushroo N Suntook on Wednesday proposing Choksey’s appointment as a nominee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, the people said.The trust is the largest shareholder in Tata Sons, with a 28% stake, and has long backed institutions such as the NCPA. Choksey, daughter of the late Minocher Tata and Piloo Tata, is a member of the Tata family descended from founder Jamsetji Tata.She, her brother Jimmy, their mother Piloo and the MK Tata Trust, established by their late father Minocher, together own about 1% of Tata Sons.The MK Tata Trust, of which Vera is a trustee, is dependent on dividends from Tata Sons to fund its charitable activities, much like SDTT. However, with Tata Sons unable to complete its annual general meeting because of legal and regulatory roadblocks, shareholders have been unable to vote on and approve the proposed dividend, delaying payouts to shareholder trusts.Apart from Suntook, the NCPA board, which has more than a dozen members, includes Noel, former Citi India CEO Pramit Jhaveri, Tata Trusts’ trustee Jehangir Jehangir, Brinda Khatau, Nirmal Bhogilal of the Batliboi family, Sir Dinshaw Maneckjee Petit, Jehangir Sorabjee, son of the late jurist Soli Sorabjee, and industrialist Jamshyd Godrej.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.