Bhubaneswar: Former Director of Tata Sons and Managing Director of Tata Steel, Jamshed J Irani, passed away in Jamshedpur late Monday night. He was 86.
Popularly known as the “Steel Man of India”, Irani was born on June 2, 1936 in Nagpur to Jiji Irani and Khorshed Irani. He was associated with Tata Steel for over four decades. He retired from the board of Tata Steel in June 2011. He is survived by his wife Daisy Irani and his three children, Zubin, Niloufer and Tanaaz.
An M.Sc in Geology from Nagpur University, Irani has a doctorate certificate from the University of Sheffield, UK. Irani was also conferred upon Padma Bhushan – the third-highest civilian award.
He started his professional career with the British Iron and Steel Research Association in Sheffield in 1963. He returned to India to join The Tata Iron and Steel Company (now Tata Steel) in 1968, and joined the firm as Assistant to the Director in-charge of Research and Development.
He went on to become General Superintendent in 1978, General Manager in 1979, and President of Tata Steel in 1985. He became Joint Managing Director of Tata Steel in 1988, and Managing Director in 1992, before retiring in 2011.
He joined the Board of Tata Steel in 1981 and was also a Non-Executive Director from 2001 for a decade. Besides Tata Steel and Tata Sons, Dr Irani also served as a Director of several Tata Group companies, including Tata Motors and Tata Teleservices.
