The Pallonji family have been active in Business for over a century, and it was in the 1930s that Mistry's grandfather, Shapoorji Mistry, first acquired a stake in Tata Sons. The stake, which now stand at 18.5%, is presently held by Mistry's Father, and comprises the largest block of shares held by a single party; some 66% stake in Tata Sons is controlled by charitable trusts set up by the family. Mistry thus grew up in affluent circumstances. He studied at the prestigious Cathedral & John Connon School in South Mumbai, and then moved to London to study at Imperial College for a B.Sc. degree in civil engineering. He then went on to take an M.Sc. in management from the London Business School.
Mistry has been managing Director of Shapoorji Pallonji & Company, which is part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. He joined the board of Tata Sons on 1 September 2006, a year after his Father retired from it. He served as a Director of Tata Elxsi Limited, from 24 September 1990 to 26 October 2009 and was a Director of Tata Power Co. Ltd until 18 September 2006.
In 2012, Mistry was appointed as the chairman of Tata Sons. In addition, he was also chairman of all major Tata companies including Tata Industries, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Power, Tata Teleservices, Indian Hotels, Tata Global Beverages and Tata Chemicals.
In a 2013 article, The Economist categorized him as "the most important industrialist in both" India & Britain.
The Tata Sons Board voted to remove Mistry from the Chairmanship of Tata Sons on 24 October 2016.
