Former Tata Steel MD Dr Jamshed J Irani, who was popularly known as the Steel Man of India, died Monday night in Jamshedpur’s Tata Main Hospital.
He was 86 and is survived by his wife Daisy and three children.
“We are deeply saddened at the demise of Padma Bhushan Dr. Jamshed J Irani, fondly known as the Steel Man of India. Tata Steel family offers its deepest condolences to his family and loved ones,” Tata Steel wrote on Twitter.
Jamshed J Irani’s cause of death has not been revealed.
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Who was Jamshed J Irani?
Jamshed J Irani, who had a 43-year-old association with Tata Steel, was born in Nagpur on June 2, 1936. His parents were Jiji and Khorshed Irani.
He earned his BSc from Science College in 1956 and his MSc in Geology from Nagpur University in 1958. He went to the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom (UK) as a J N Tata scholar, where he secured a Masters in Metallurgy in 1960. He later got a PhD in Metallurgy in 1963.
He started his professional career with British Iron and Steel Research Association as a senior scientific officer in Sheffield in 1963. He was promoted as the head of Physical Metallurgy Division.
He later returned to India and joined The Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO, now Tata Steel) in 1968 as an assistant to the Director in-charge of Research and Development.
He was promoted as the general superintendent in 1978, general manager in 1979, president in 1985, Managing Director in 1992 and the Director in 1998.
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He retired from the Tata Steel in 2001.
He joined the board of Tata Motors in June 1993 and also served as the director with Tata Sons.
In 2004, the government appointed him as the Chairman of the Expert Committee for formation of the new Companies Act of India.
He retired from all the posts of Tata companies in 2011.
He was the Chairman of Board of Governors at Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow. He and his sister Diana Hormusjee have instituted Jiji Irani Challenge Cup in memory of their father. The Jiji Irani Challenge Cup is a cricket tournament organised by Zorostrian Club of Secunderabad.
In 1997, he was conferred an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II. He received the Padma Bhushan in 2007 from Government of India.
