Changes at the top for India's Tata group

India Dispatch: Tata group's new chairman, Cyrus Mistry, has started to make his mark on the 145-year-old Indian conglomerate as he builds his senior management team.

Tata group's new chairman, Cyrus Mistry, has started to make his mark on the 145-year-old Indian conglomerate as he builds his senior management team.

Mr Mistry, 44, succeeded Ratan Tata, who retired on December 28.

This week, Tata Sons, the conglomerate's holding company, announced the appointment of Mukund Rajan, also 44, as brand custodian, chief spokesman, and chief ethics officer. Mr Rajan has been with the group for 18 years.

A number of executives have been newly appointed in the group in the past year, including Karl Slym, who took over as the managing director of Tata Motors in August. Harish Bhat took up the role of chief executive of Tata Global Beverages in July.

"New leaders like to build their own teams of people who they know will be with them for the long term," said Morgen Witzel, a management writer and the author of Tata: The Evolution of a Corporate Brand. "This ensures continuity of thinking and interaction at the top level," he told the newspaper Mint.

Mr Mistry is only the second person from outside of the immediate Tata family to have taken control of the group.

The Tata group is made up of companies across sectors including engineering, chemicals, and consumer products. It was founded in 1868.

Among its interests it owns Jaguar Land Rover. It partnered with Starbucks to launch cafes in India.

Tata's total revenue was about US$100 billion (Dh367bn) for the fiscal year 2011-2012.