Mumbai: The city’s Colaba district saw family, friends and business associates of the Tata family gather on Saturday morning to pay their last respects to Simone Tata, mother of Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata.
Tata, who will be remembered as much for her philanthropic efforts as for her success in the boardroom, died on friday aged 95 after a short illness.
Her remains were enshrined in the Holy Name Cathedral, which is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Bombay and the seat of the Archbishop of Bombay.
Family members and friends who paid their last respects included Shapoor Mistry of SP Group, Saurabh Agrawal of Tata Sons, TV Narendran of Tata Sons, Jamshyd Godrej of Godrej Enterprises Group and Praveer Sinha of Tata Power. Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran could not attend as he was travelling.
Born Simone Dunoyer in Geneva in 1930, she first visited India in 1953 when she met Naval Tata, father of the late Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata. The two married in 1955 and became Ratan Tata’s stepmother and Noel Tata’s mother.
Her corporate journey began with her joining the board of directors of Lakmé in 1962 and later becoming the company’s chairman in the early 1980s. After Lakmé was sold to Hindustan Unilever in 1996, it channeled the sale proceeds to launch Trent, marking the Tata Group’s entry into fashion retail.
Simone Tata is survived by her son Christmasdaughter-in-law Aloo Mistry and grandchildren Leah, Maya and Neville.
Tata leaves behind a strong legacy as a business leader who guided Lakmé through its formative decades before its eventual sale to Hindustan Unilever in the 1990s.
“She will always be remembered for her contribution to growing Lakmé as India’s leading beauty brand and laying the foundation for fashion retail with the Westside chain. She has also led the work of many philanthropic organisations, including the Sir Ratan Tata Institute,” Tata said in a statement.
