For Cyrus P Mistry, the ousted chairman of Tata Sons, the past year has been a mixed bag.

He has found much-needed time for family, though the ongoing legal tussle and personal attacks from various quarters have made it a rather difficult period for Mistry.

Mistry, who had taken over as Chairman of Tata Sons in 2012, was shown the door on October 24, 2016, in a boardroom coup led by Ratan Tata. “Since the age of 19, Mistry had been working, even on vacations,” a source close to the Mistry family told BusinessLine .

“But the last one year is perhaps the only break he has got until now. During this time he has not taken an active role in the family business, but has supported his brother when required.”

Family business

Cyrus and his brother Shapoor own 50 per cent each of the family-held Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group. Despite being out of the Tata Group, Mistry decided not to take an active role in the SP Group, said the source.

So what does Mistry think of his tenure at Tata Sons? “He saw it as a platform to do much good; that period was a phenomenal part of his career,” another source said.

Even if he had predicted his ultimate ouster from Tata Sons, Mistry would still have taken over Tata Sons’ reins, the sources said.

Lauding Mistry’s policies, sources close to him recalled that he did not recruit anyone from the SP Group, or his relatives or friends, into Tata Sons or the group’s operating companies.

Nirmalya Kumar, an academician and former Group Executive Council member at Tata Sons, wrote in a blog on Saturday: “Only two Tata CEOs — Bhaskar Bhat and Harish Bhat — have had anything negative to say about Cyrus Mistry in the press.

Muted criticism

And, even they were remarkably muted in their criticism. Under the circumstances, what better performance review could Cyrus Mistry have received as Chairman of Tata Sons?”

Sources close to Mistry said he has prepared a roadmap for the future, but for now he wants to play the cards close to his chest.

“He will reveal it when the time is right,” is all they would divulge.

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