He belongs to a publicity-shy group and is now in full media glare as he going to head the largest business house in the country. Mr Cyrus Mistry belongs to the family that holds the single largest stake in Tata Sons.

His surname may not be Tata, but he is very much an insider of the Tata Empire. In the last five years he has been on the board of Tata Sons and ironically he was also a member of the Selection Committee for choosing a successor.

Forty-three year-old Mr Mistry is a graduate of civil engineering from the Imperial College, London and holds a Master of Science in Management from the London Business School.

He is currently Managing Director of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and Director of Tata Sons.

Mr Mistry is the son of Mr Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry. Mr Pallonji, whose net worth is estimated at $8.8 billion, holds about 18 per cent stake in Tata Sons, and is the single largest shareholder.

Mr Mistry has been a director of Tata Sons since September 1, 2006. He was earlier Director of Tata Elxsi and Tata Power.

Mr Mistry also served a Senior Vice-President of Production of DQ Entertainment. He is a Senior Vice- President of Business Development and Technology at DQ Entertainment (International) Ltd. He is also Chairman of the Board of Shapoorji Pallonji Group and Afcons Infrastructure Ltd.

This apart, Mr Mistry is also on the board of a number of other companies.