By Shyanak Ghoshal.
Irani was associated with Tata Steel for over four decades and retired from the board of Tata Steel in
June 2011, leaving behind a legacy of 43 years.Born on June 02, 1936 in Nagpur to Jiji Irani and
Khorshed Irani, JJ Irani completed his Bachelor of Science from Science College in the city in 1956
and Master of Science in Geology from the Nagpur University in 1958. He then went to the
University of Sheffield in the UK as a JN Tata scholar where he secured a Masters in Metallurgy in
1960 and a PhD in Metallurgy in 1963.
Irani is survived by his wife Daisy Irani and three children—Zubin, Niloufer and Tanaaz.
He started his professional career with the British Iron and Steel Research Association in Sheffield in
1963 but always yearned to contribute to the Nation’s progress and returned to India to join the
then The Tata Iron and Steel Company (now Tata Steel) in 1968 as an 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 the Joint Managing Director of Tata Steel in 1988, Managing Director
in 1992 before retiring in 2001.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, Irani served as a
Director of several Tata Group companies, including Tata Motors and Tata Teleservices.He was the
National President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 1992-93.He was conferred
several honours, including his appointment as International Fellow of the Royal Academy of
Engineering in 1996 and an Honorary Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 for his contributions
to Indo-British Trade and Co-operation.
News Mania Desk
