Ratan Tata's Confidant Mehli Mistry Resigns from RNT Associates Board

Mehli Mistry, a close confidant of the late Ratan Tata, has resigned from the board of RNT Associates. He joined the board a little over three years ago. RNT Associates is the family office whose board includes Ratan Tata's two sisters.

Mistry's resignation from RNT Associates comes after his ouster from Tata Trusts in November 2025. Tata Trusts are the philanthropic entities that own Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group.

"Owing to my preoccupation with my other commitments, I hereby submit my resignation from the position of director of RNT Associates, effective i.e. 1 July 2026," Mistry wrote in a letter to the RNT Associates board, dated June 30.

Mistry continues to serve as a board member of Tata Education and Development Trust, the wealthiest affiliate of Tata Trusts.

Who Runs RNT Associates

The board of RNT Associates now has four members, Ratan Tata's sisters Shireen Jejeebhoy and Deanna Jejeebhoy, senior Tata Sons executive Jamsheed Poncha and Tata Sons General Counsel Sidharth Sharma.

RNT Associates was set up in March 2009 as the investment vehicle Ratan Tata used to back start-ups. It holds small investments in nearly two dozen start-ups, including Paytm, Ola and BlueStone.

The company earns revenue through dividends and consultancy services. According to its financials for the year ended March 2023, the most recent available, dividend income made up about half of its ₹36 crore revenue.

Ratan Tata and his late associate RK Krishna Kumar were earlier the principal shareholders of RNT Associates. In 2022, before Ratan Tata's death in October 2024, he set up the Ratan Tata Endowment Foundation (RTEF) and the Ratan Tata Endowment Trust (RTET) as the two shareholders of RNT Associates.

RTEF's board includes Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran, former Tata Group executive Raghavan Shastri, and former Group employee Burzis Taraporevala. RTET's trustees include Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, Shireen and Deanna Jejeebhoy, former Citibank India executive Pramit Jhaveri, Shastri and Poncha.

Mistry's Ouster

Mistry joined the RNT Associates board in March 2023. His resignation follows a broader exit from the Tata Group's affiliated entities after differences with Tata Trustees led to his removal from the group's two principal trusts.

Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust hold 27.98% and 23.56% stakes, respectively, in Tata Sons, while other smaller trusts hold 14.4%. Together, these philanthropic entities hold a majority 65.9% stake in the holding company. The remaining stake is held by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group (18.38%), nine Tata Group companies (12.86%), and seven individuals (2.87%).

Following his ouster, Mistry challenged the decision before the Maharashtra charity commissioner. He contested the removal ordered by Trust chairman Noel Tata and vice chairmen Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh. Mistry has said he is not seeking reinstatement to Tata Trusts. He has stated that he filed the affidavits to bring attention to alleged wrongdoing at the philanthropic entities, which he says led to his removal.