Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Friday expressed deep grief over the passing of Simone Tata, the trailblazing enterprise chief who formed India’s magnificence and retail sectors by her stewardship of Lakmé and the Westside chain. Remembering her on X, Mazumdar-Shaw referred to as Simone Tata her “shero” and a “doyen of girls enterprise leaders,” praising her foresight in establishing Lakmé as a family title. She mentioned Tata’s “acumen and braveness” outlined an period in Indian cosmetics and described her legacy as one which “will stay etched in historical past ceaselessly.”
Simone Tata died on the age of 95 on Friday morning at Mumbai’s Breach Sweet Hospital after a short sickness. She was the mom of Tata Trusts chairperson Noel Tata and the stepmother of the late Ratan Tata.
The Tata Group confirmed her passing and introduced that her funeral could be held on Saturday on the Cathedral of the Holy Identify in Colaba. In a tribute, the conglomerate mentioned she could be remembered for reworking Lakmé into India’s main cosmetics firm and for laying the muse of recent style retail by Westside. It additionally acknowledged her long-standing involvement with philanthropic establishments, together with the Sir Ratan Tata Institute.
Born Simone Naval Dunoyer in Geneva, she arrived in India within the early Nineteen Fifties as a traveller and married Naval H. Tata in 1955, starting a lifelong affiliation with the Tata household. She joined the board of Lakmé in 1961, when it operated as a small division of Tata Oil Mills Firm (TOMCO). Over the following a number of many years, she steered the model by speedy evolution, serving to it turn into one among India’s most recognised names in magnificence and private care.
By 1982, she had turn into chairperson, guiding the corporate right into a interval of enlargement that may redefine the nation’s cosmetics panorama. Her management earned her the title “Beauty Czarina of India,” a mirrored image of her distinctive affect on client tendencies and the broader retail ecosystem.
In its assertion, the Tata Group mentioned, “Along with her positivity and deep resolve, she overcame many challenges whereas touching many lives. Might her soul relaxation in peace, and will we discover energy on this second of loss.”
Simone Tata is survived by her son Noel Tata, daughter-in-law Aloo Mistry and grandchildren Neville, Maya and Leah.
