28/06/2022
With deep sorrow, we announce the demise of Mr Pallonji Mistry. He breathed his last, peacefully, around 12:30 am, in the early hours of 28th June, at his residence. He was 93 years old and is survived by his wife Patsy, daughters Laila and Aloo, sons Shapoor and Cyrus, and their respective families.
Pallonji Mistry was born on June 1st 1929 and did his schooling and college education in Bombay. He joined his family business, Shapoorji Pallonji & Company, in 1947, at the young age of eighteen, under the watchful eyes of his father. He took over the reins of the company in 1975, when his father passed away.
Pallonji seth as he was fondly known, was an astute businessman, quick to spot opportunities in India’s growing economy. Towards the end of the 1960s, he also had the foresight and confidence to venture abroad, to the Middle East. The Muscat Palace was the first project completed by an Indian construction company abroad, and became a showpiece of Indian capabilities to the world.
Under his leadership, the group grew substantially in size and scope in the later decades, expanding into several other business lines, including those currently represented by group businesses such as Sterling & Wilson, Afcons Infrastructure, Forbes, and Gokak. Over the course of his career, he served on the boards of several institutions, namely Union Bank of India, Bombay Dyeing, W H Brady, ACC and Tata Sons. In 2016, in recognition of his significant contributions to Indian industry and nation building over six decades, he was conferred the Padma Bhushan by the President of India.
Pallonji seth embodied the Zoroastrian virtues of ethics, integrity, fair play in all dealings, and in being sympathetic and generous to those sections of society less fortunate. He was deeply religious and a family man, and his attributes of humility, graciousness and old word charm were abundantly evident to anyone who interacted with him.
May his soul rest in peace.
“Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta” (Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds)