Tata Sons independent director Ronen Sen slams Cyrus Mistry for 'orchestrated leaks' of documents

Mumbai: Dismissing speculation that he had complimented ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry's performance but voted for his dismissal, Tata Sons independent director and former diplomat Ronen Sen said such "insinuations" through orchestrated leaks reflected a mindset of "self-centred priorities and perceptions".

Taking a dig Cyrus Mistry, he said internal documents were being "leaked in a selective and motivated manner by sources close to the former chairman", raising questions on "whether these orchestrated leaks, unless denounced by him, will enhance or further diminish the confidence of his fellow directors on the board of Tata Sons".

"Insinuations that I acted differently in the board room of an iconic company with a great legacy appears to reflect a mindset that measures others by their own self-centred priorities and perceptions," Sen said in a letter to Tatas.

Reports had suggested that Sen along with another independent director Farida Khambata complimented Mistry on his performance as chairman. However, in contrast to the praise, Sen, who is a member of the Nomination & Renumeration Committee (NRC) of Tata Sons and another member Vijay Singh voted to dismiss Mistry in the board meeting on October 24.

"The implied assumption that there were no developments between the meeting of the Nomination & Renumeration Committee and the Board meeting on the 24th October is also naive to put it mildly," Sen said in the letter.

He, however, insisted that he "will also not stoop to the level of the unidentified 'person' 'close to the former chairman' who has implicitly questioned my integrity and explicitly alleged that I, and another respected colleague on the board, of 'clearly having failed to apply their mind independently and discharge their fiduciary duty' by dignifying the charge with a response."

Sen said he has not and would not comment on the veracity or otherwise of confidential and internal documents being "leaked in a selective and motivated manner by 'sources close to the former chairman', contrary to norms governing privileged information".