Cyrus Mistry's temperament to think long-term and his proximity to Ratan Tata proved to be a decisive advantage over other internal candidates
Just minutes before the world heard the news of the new chairman-in-waiting, Ratan Tata had individually called each of his leading CEOs in Bombay House on the phone to inform them about the board’s decision. Many were stunned.
Cyrus Mistry’s long-standing assistant Vasu at SP Centre, the group’s HQ in South Mumbai, too had fielded calls from senior colleagues across the SP Group asking if the news was true. Vasu too had no clue that his boss was about to become the talk of town.
(This story appears in the 16 December, 2011 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)