MUMBAI: The Pallonji Mistry family, the largest individual shareholders of Tata Sons, have backed Noel Tata’s appointment to the board of the holding company of the $180 billion Tata Group. Noel, 69, is the son-in-law of the late Pallonji Mistry and was nominated to the board of Tata Sons by its largest shareholder, Tata Trusts. The Mistrys own 18.4% of Tata Sons and voted in favour of the company’s ordinary resolution on Noel’s appointment as a director at its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday. An ordinary resolution requires a majority of the votes cast in favour of it. Owning a stake in Tata Sons since 1936, the Mistrys have been actively expressing their opinions on Tata Sons’ resolutions involving business dealings. In the past, they supported Ratan Tata’s chairmanship at Tata Sons, abstained from participating in the resolution concerning N Chandrasekaran’s appointment as chairman, and voted against Tata Sons’ decision to convert itself from a public limited company into a private limited one. In recent years, they have been seeking to exit Tata Sons, especially after their relationship with Ratan soured in 2016, but their requests were rejected by Tata Trusts. At Thursday’s shareholder meeting, Tata Trusts trustee Mehli Mistry, who is also related to Pallonji Mistry (Mehli’s mother and Pallonji’s wife are sisters), proposed Noel’s resolution while Tata Power MD Praveer Sinha seconded it. Tata Power owns 1.65% of Tata Sons, while Tata Trusts, a collection of over a dozen foundations, hold 65%. Mehli represented Sir Ratan Tata Trust, the only foundation that carries the veto vote to prevent any resolution from being implemented. Noel was inducted into the Tata Sons board in Oct 2024 following his appointment as chairman of Tata Trusts. The Mistrys’ latest move comes after Tata Trusts, at its July 28 meeting, directed Tata Sons to provide the family an exit in a bid to ensure that the company remains private. Tata Sons faces a Sept 29 RBI deadline to list itself on the bourses, a move that would automatically allow the Mistrys to exit from the holdco. Noel’s three children, Leah Tata (40), Maya Tata (37), and Neville Tata (33), who are on the boards of smaller Tata foundations, also attended the meeting-their first attendance- at Bombay House, Tata Sons headquarters.