DHAKA: The replacement at the helm of India’s largest conglomerate has come as both a shock and a surprise.

Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group, in a sudden move on Monday, unexpectedly replaced chairman Cyrus Mistry with his predecessor Ratan Tata,

The change is made even more puzzling by the company giving no explanation or details about its decision.

The country’s media, though, is filled with speculation about the decision and what the future might hold for Tata.

The first question on everyone’s mind was “Why?”

Cyrus Misty had been hand-picked as a successor to Ratan Tata in 2012, as the second chairman from outside the Tata family and with high hopes that he would be the right man to steer the company.

He was the sixth chairman in Tata’s 148-year history and the first chairman in nearly 80 years to come from outside the Tata family.

The Economic Times writes the move was over “performance issues”, citing allegations that Tata was not happy with Mistry’s “approach of shedding non-profit businesses, including the conglomerate’s steel business in Europe, and concentrating only on cash cows”.

The paper also notes that there was a “fundamental disconnect between Mistry and Tata, particularly with regard to ethos, values, vision and the direction” the group was taking.

Mistry’s explicit disregard for the “old guard” in the company was “considered overtly aggressive and unnecessary”, according to the paper.

BDST: 1246 HRS, OCT 25, 2016
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