Cyrus Mistry – the perfect gentleman

“Will you join me?” Cyrus had asked, after a meeting which was set up as an introductory one on his request. I had indicated that I was not in the market for a job even before the meeting but was not surprised by the question. “I have not come prepared to answer that question, Cyrus” was my honest response.

The following months were spent discussing what would make a Group CTO role successful for a conglomerate like the Tatas. I joined the group about six months after my first meeting with Cyrus, knowing that I would be working with a gentleman and someone with a keen technical and business sense.

“Do not be in a hurry, Gopi. You have 25 years to deliver. Plan it with that time frame in mind.” Cyrus’ first words of advice on my first day at work with him were exactly opposite of what I was used to in the MNC world where I cut my teeth.

Of course, he knew the cut-throat speed of the world I came from and was advising me to adapt to a more thoughtful approach to delivery. I got to work with him only for a precious two years before things changed.

During those two years, I came to know Cyrus working with him on global technology trends and how the Tatas could lead the world in a few areas.

I also travelled with him across India, China, and the US – understanding capabilities of corporates, startups, and academics. We funded top universities globally and in India. We also built in-house capabilities in impactful areas like graphene, hydrogen fuel cells, agricultural drones, and the gut microbiome.

He had a keen sense of technology and was deeply interested in areas like the gut microbiome and its impact on health. In fact, I believed gut microbiome research was an area at least 10 years away from impact, but he was willing to invest even if that were the case. He continued to be interested in technology and even recently, after his and my Tata days, he was discussing details of multi-spectral imaging with me.

Cyrus was an ambassador for the Indian Industry. I remember the meeting with Tim Cook at the Taj Palace, Mumbai where he represented the Tata Group and the Indian Industry and commanded respect in his understated way.

At MIT, as an industry advisor, I watched Cyrus shoulder to shoulder with the brightest minds of the global industry spar on academic research. In China, we sat across CEOs of every major corporation and no doubt left them in awe of what India represented.

His ability to look at financial documents and absorb the essence was at a genius level. But at the end of the day, he was a husband, a father, and a friend. We were invited by him and Rohiqa every year to a family dinner at his home where the warmth of their hospitality was genuinely felt. He was a foodie, and he enjoyed good food. Be it street corner dosa or fine dining in the best of Michelin star restaurants, he enjoyed his meal.

Cyrus was easy to reach. He always responded to messages within two minutes. My last two exchanges with him were when his father passed in June and on Navroz in August. He responded, each time, in less than a minute. As I write this, the reality sinks in that I will never ever again get a response from Cyrus.

(The writer is the former CTO of Tata Group and founder of AI company Myelin Foundry)