New chairman of Tata is keeping it in the family

The next chairman of India's venerable salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group will be an insider and a family member by marriage.

India's biggest corporate house, which also ranks as the UK's largest manufacturer thanks to its ownership of the steelmaker Corus, car group Jaguar Land Rover and tea firm Tetley, named Cyrus Mistry as deputy chairman of Tata Sons, the group's holding company. He will succeed Ratan Tata when he retires as chairman in December 2012. Mr Mistry, 43, is the son of Pallonji Mistry, the single largest shareholder of Tata Sons, with a stake of 18 per cent. His sister is married to Ratan Tata's half-brother Noel Tata, who was also believed to be a candidate to be the next chairman.