New Delhi, Nov. 15 -- Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata said on Saturday that he wasn't against the conglomerate's directional push but questioned its discipline in executing these projects, adding that taking the holding firm Tata Sons public will fundamentally alter the "Tata way" of working. Speaking at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Tata said the Trusts remained ready to back Tata Sons' national projects and underlined the salt-to-software conglomerate's core philosophy that foregrounded philanthropy. "My worry is that listing, which is what some people are proposing, will change this way, the Tata way. And one day, if we have 30,000, 40,000 shareholders, profit may take precedence over philanthropy. And I think that will fundamentally change the Tata way of working," Tata said, in conversation with Suhel Seth. Tata's remarks are one of his most direct public comments yet on listing, an issue which has roiled the group. Tata Trusts owns more than 66% of Tata Sons. When asked to define the Tata way, Tata said it rested on one idea: "The Tata way, the way I see it, revolves around a single premise: Charity precedes commerce. It's not the other way around. Profits from group companies become tomorrow's hospital, tomorrow's library, tomorrow's educational institutions, tomorrow's relief for people in crisis. This profit becomes in a way a public good. And it repeats itself every year, year on year, by design," he said. He said this worked because of how Tata Sons was owned. "The owner cannot die, the owner cannot be bought, and the owner cannot retire. So there is a continuity in what happens in the Tata way." The remarks come amid his differences with the Tata Sons board over three issues: The reappointment of chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran for another five-year term, a planned public offering of Tata Sons, and growing losses in new-age businesses including aviation, electric vehicle batteries, digital commerce and semiconductors. Tata said the group's strategic direction was not in question; he questioned whether the group had the discipline to deliver on it. "In terms of governance, the strategic direction remains the same. Philanthropy on one hand, nation building on the other. This is independent of the leadership, of personalities. This is embedded in the DNA of the group," Tata said....