Cyrus Mistry - From being a low profile figure to becoming Tata Son's Chairman

The news of Cyrus Mistry out and the Ratan Tata back in the fold came in as a shock for India Inc.

Mistry was made the Chairman of the company in December 2012 after its previous Chairman, Ratan Tata, formally retired. At 46, he became the Chief Executive Officer of the $100 billion Tata Sons.

Half-Irish and half-Indian, Mistry was the not just the sixth chairman of the group but also the second chairman who did not carry the Tata name, after Nowroji Saklatwala.

Before this, he was the Managing Director of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. He was also on the board of Tata Sons, the holding company that controls the Tata Group. Being the son of Pallonji Mistry, who was the head of infrastructure conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group, helped Mistry Jr.'s cause. It also bolstered his cause as his father Pallonji was the biggest shareholder in Tata Sons when the baton was passed on to him.

The youngest son of construction tycoon Pallonji Mistry, Mistry comes from a strong educational background as well.

While many debated whether it was his father's credentials that worked in his favour, Mistry was no lightweight himself. He is a graduate of civil engineering from Imperial College of London, and has a Master of Science in Management from the London Business School.

Till 2012, the unassuming Mistry was a relatively low-profile figure within India Inc circles, spending time with his wife Rohiqa, teenage sons - Firoz and Zahan - and his two dogs. In interviews, he has also mentioned that his better half is his best friend and his Clementine mirror.

For the shy and reticent Mistry, the dip in Tata's worth dipping to $103 billion in 2015-2016 from $108 billion the previous year, was an unkind cut. Add to that a net debt rising to $24.5 billion this year from $23.4 billion a year ago which was the biggest recorded in the history of the group. His decision to sell Tata steel's UK plant also created panic among employees and the British government.

In an earlier interview posted on the Tata website, Mistry had said that he was "doing a bad job of keeping a healthy work-life balance" as he hadn't stepped on a golf course in the past five years while he was at the top.

Now with his work schedule relaxed, maybe Cyrus Mistry could take that up, again.