Ratan Tata was the Chairman of the Tata Group till 2012 when he finally decided to step down after 22 years from the post at the age of 78.
Under him, Tata Consultancy Services became India’s largest IT company, ahead of Infosys and Wipro.
The man who loved fast cars and flying his own plane, gave the common Indian a unique product – the Rs 1-lakh car, the Tata Nano.
He also made a series of headline-grabbing global acquisitions as Chairman – Tetley was bought for $450 million in 2000, Corus for GBP 6.2 billion in 2007, and Jaguar Land Rover for $2.3 billion in 2008.
Highlights from his life and career:
Early life
Ratan Tata was born on December 28, 1937 to Naval Tata and Soonoo Commisariat. He had a rough childhood as his parents separated when he was 7, and was raised by his grandmother Navajbai Tata, along with his younger brother Jimmy.
He completed his BS. in Architecture in 1962 from Cornell University, New York and got an Advanced Management Program degree from Harvard Business School, US in 1975. As advised by J R D Tata, Ratan turned down a job offer from IBM to join the family business.
Entry into Tata Group
Ratan Tata began his career with the Tata group as an apprentice on the shop floor of Tata Steel, shovelling limestone and handling the blast furnace.
In the late 70s, he was given charge of National Radio & Electronics Company Limited (NELCO) and Mumbai-based Empress Mills. In 1991, J R D. Tata stepped down as chairman of Tata Sons, naming Ratan Tata his successor. At this time, Ratan Tata was the 4th generation in the dynasty to take over the family business.
Jewels of the Ratan crown
According to Morgen Witzel, a UK-based management writer and author of Tata: The Evolution of a Corporate Brand, Ratan’s ascension in 1991 was the best thing that could have happened to the Tata group. He was not just responsible for replacing old staff with new young energy, but brought about multiple changes in the conglomerate overall. Tisco and Telco were re- branded as Tata Steel and Tata Motors.
Under his leadership, the company’s revenue and profits doubled and it successfully acquired Jaguar, Corus, Land Rover and Tetley. Ratan Tata gained popularity when he introduced the world’s cheapest Indian car Tata Nano priced at 1 lakh rupees and fulfilled Indian consumers’ dream of buying affordable cars.
The downside
According to an analytical news report, the conglomerate ended up also sitting on a debt pile of $26 billion (around Rs 1.42 trillion), which caused concern among some investors. Tata’s telecom business was also under severe strain in the wake of the 2G scam.
Resignation and net worth after two decades
He stepped down on 28 December, 2012 when he turned 75, appointing Cyrus Mistry as his successor.
The group’s aggregate sales at the end of 2011-12 during the time he stepped down, was at Rs 4.51 trillion. This was 43 times the turnover in 1992-93, when Ratan Tata first took over as chairman.
Ratan Tata continued to head the main two Tata trusts, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, as well as the major holding company, Tata Sons. Together, he holds 66% stake in them.
The ties between Cyrus Mistry and Ratan Tata soured later and Mistry was forced out. N Chandrasekaran of TCS later took over as Tata Group chairman and a post in which he continues.
Honours galore
He was awarded the ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2000 and ‘Padma Vibhushan’ in 2008, India’s highest civilian honours and was also named the 26th Robert S Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, by Cornell University. Additionally, 15 institutions from around the world have awarded him with honorary doctorates in various fields of study, ranging from engineering to business management.
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