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Ratan Naval Tata

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"Ratan Tata" redirects here. For Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, see Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata.
Ratan Naval Tata

December 28, 1937 (1937-12-28) (age 72)

Born
Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India
Residence Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Ethnicity Parsi
Citizenship India
Cornell University
Alma mater
Harvard University
Occupation Chairman of Tata Group
Home town Mumbai, India
Religion Zoroastrianism
Ratan Naval Tata (born December 28, 1937, in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India) is
the present Chairman of Tata Sons and therefore, Tata Group[1], India's largest conglomerate
founded by Jamsedji Tata and consolidated and expanded by later generations of his family. He
is also the chairman of major Tata companies such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata
Consultancy Services, Tata Tea, Tata Chemicals, The Indian Hotels Company and Tata
Teleservices.

Contents
[hide]
• 1 Early life
○ 1.1 Early career
• 2 Career
• 3 Personal life
• 4 Quotes
• 5 Awards and recognition
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Early life
Ratan Tata was born into the wealthy and famous Tata family of Bombay. He was born to
Soonoo and Naval Hormusji Tata. Ratan is the great grandson of Tata group founder Jamsedji
Tata. Ratan's childhood was troubled, his parents separating in the mid-1940s, when he was
about seven and his younger brother Jimmy was five. His mother moved out and both Ratan and
his brother were raised by their grandmother Lady Navajbai.
Early career
Ratan Tata completed his BSc degree in architecture with structural engineering from Cornell
University in 1962, and the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School in
1975.[2] He joined the Tata Group in December 1962, after turning down a job with IBM on the
advice of JRD Tata. He was first sent to Jamshedpur to work at Tata Steel. He worked on the
floor along with other blue-collar employees, shoveling limestone and handling the blast
furnaces.[3] Ratan Tata, a shy man, rarely features in the society glossies, has lived for years in a
book-crammed, dog-filled bachelor flat in Mumbai's Colaba district and is considered to be a
gentleman extraordinaire.[4][5]
Career
In 1971, Ratan was appointed the Director-in-Charge of The National Radio & Electronics
Company Limited (Nelco), a company that was in dire financial difficulty. Ratan suggested that
the company invest in developing high-technology products, rather than in consumer electronics.
J.R.D. was reluctant due to the historical financial performance of Nelco which had never even
paid regular dividends. Further, Nelco had 2% market share in the consumer electronics market
and a loss margin of 40% of sales when Ratan took over. Nonetheless, J. R. D. followed Ratan's
suggestions.
From 1972 to 1975, Nelco eventually grew to have a market share of 20%, and recovered its
losses. In 1975 however, India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency,
which led to an economic recession. This was followed by union problems in 1977, so even after
demand improved, production did not keep up. Finally, the Tatas confronted the unions and,
following a strike, a lockout was imposed for seven months. Ratan continued to believe in the
fundamental soundness of Nelco, but the venture did not survive.
In 1977, Ratan was entrusted with Empress Mills, a textile mill controlled by the Tatas. When he
took charge of the company, it was one of the few sick units in the Tata group. Ratan managed to
turn it around and even declared a dividend. However, competition from less labour-intensive
enterprises had made a number of companies unviable, including those like the Empress which
had large labour contingents and had spent too little on modernisation. On Ratan's insistence,
some investment was made, but it did not suffice. As the market for coarse and medium cotton
cloth (which was all that the Empress produced) turned adverse, the Empress began to
accumulate heavier losses. Bombay House, the Tata headquarters, was unwilling to divert funds
from other group companies into an undertaking which would need to be nursed for a long time.
So, some Tata directors, chiefly Nani Palkhivala, took the line that the Tatas should liquidate the
mill, which was finally closed down in 1986. Ratan was severely disappointed with the decision,
and in a later interview with the Hindustan Times would claim that the Empress had needed just
Rs 50 lakhs to turn it around.
In 1981, Ratan was named director of Tata Industries, the Group's other holding company, where
he became responsible for transforming it into the Group's strategy think-tank and a promoter of
new ventures in high-technology businesses.
In 1991, he took over as group chairman from J.R.D. Tata, pushing out the old guard and
ushering in younger managers. Since then, he has been instrumental in reshaping the fortunes of
the Tata Group, which today has the largest market capitalization of any business house on the
Indian Stock Market.
Under Ratan's guidance, Tata Consultancy Services went public and Tata Motors was listed on
the New York Stock Exchange. In 1998, Tata Motors introduced his brainchild, the Tata Indica.
On January 31, 2007, under the chairmanship of Ratan Tata, Tata Sons successfully acquired
Corus Group, an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminium producer. With the acquisition, Ratan Tata
became a celebrated personality in Indian corporate business culture. The merger created the
fifth largest steel producing entity in the world.
On March 26, 2008, Tata Motors, under Ratan Tata, bought Jaguar & Land Rover from Ford
Motor Company. The two iconic British brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, were acquired for £1.15
billion ($2.3 billion).

Tata Nano car, 2008

Ratan Tata's dream was to manufacture a car costing Rs 100,000 (1998: approx. US$2,200;
today US$2,000 US$2,528). He realized his dream by launching the car in New Delhi Auto Expo
on January 10, 2008. Three models of the Tata Nano were announced, and Ratan Tata delivered
on his commitment to developing a car costing only 1 lakh rupees, adding that "a promise is a
promise," referring to his earlier promise to deliver this car at the said cost. However, the price of
the car has since been raised. Recently when his plant for Nano production in Singur, West
Bengal, was obstructed by Mamta Banerjee, his decision of going out of the state was warmly
welcomed by the Indian corporate media and the English-speaking middle class. Banerjee
criticised Ratan Tata for forcing people out of their land in collusion with the Left Front
government in the state, which is headed by Budhadeb Bhattacharjee.
On October 7, 2008, after a controversial stay in West Bengal, Ratan Tata and his team shifted
their Rs 1-lakh car Nano project to Sanand near Ahmedabad at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore
(Rs 20 billion), declaring that efforts will be made to roll out the world's cheapest car from a
make-shift plant to meet the deadline. The Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi granted him
huge subsidy for building the facility, including free land. Praising Modi for speedy allocation of
about 1,100 acres (4.5 km2) of centrally located land, Ratan Tata said that the company had a
great deal of urgency in having a new location and was driven by the reputation of the state.
The car was launched on March 23, 2009, amid much fanfare with advance bookings that
preceded its launch by months.
Personal life
Mr. Ratan Tata has a metallic blue Maserati and Ferrari California but prefers to drive himself in
an old model Mercedes sedan much like JRD who seldom used a chauffeur and drove his own
Fiat to and from work.[6] He sometimes likes to fly his private jet himself. He has an outdated
Falcon Jet, which is no longer used for commercial aviation.[7] He has never been married.[8]
He likes to wear Hermès ties and matching handkerchiefs. [1]
Ratan Tata is largely an employee Chairman / CEO of the group and most his own holding in
Tata Sons., the holding company of the group, is a result of inherited family shareholding. His
share is or a little less than 1%, valuing his personal holding at approximately US$ 1 Billion, if
encashed.[citation needed] About 66% of the equity capital of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts
endowed by members of the original Jameshedji family and the largest share is with the
Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry family aligned originally to Jamshetji's brother in law. The biggest two
of the owning trusts are the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (different Ratan
Tata), which were created by the families of the sons of Jamshedji Tata. Ratan Tata is on the
board of trustees of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, and is the chairman of the board of trustees of the
Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.[original research?] Ratan Tata is also best known for the face behind changing
India's automotive industry into global climate change era.
Quotes
• "Question the unquestionable"
• "A promise is a promise" [9]
Awards and recognition
Ratan Tata serves in senior capacities in various organisations in India and he is a member of the
Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. Tata is on the board of governors of the East-
West Center, the advisory board of RAND's Center for Asia Pacific Policy and serves on the
programme board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India AIDS initiative.[10]
Ratan Tata's foreign affiliations include membership of the international advisory boards of the
Mitsubishi Corporation, the American International Group, JP Morgan Chase and Booz Allen
Hamilton. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the RAND Corporation, University of
Southern California and of his alma mater, Cornell University.[11][12] He also serves as a board
member on the Republic of South Africa's International Investment Council and is an Asia-
Pacific advisory committee member for the New York Stock Exchange.
• On the occasion of India's 50th Republic Day on 26 January 2000, Ratan Tata was
honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest decoration that may be awarded to a
civilian.[10]
• In February 2004, Ratan Tata was conferred the title of honorary economic advisor to
Hangzhou city in the Zhejiang province of China.[13]
• On August 30, 2005, it was announced that Ratan Tata was elected to the Board of
Trustees of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, one of the leading
research universities in the United States.
• In 2006 he received the FIRST Award for Responsible Capitalism.[14]
• In March 2006 Tata was honoured by Cornell University as the 26th Robert S. Hatfield
Fellow in Economic Education, considered the highest honor the university awards to
distinguished individuals from the corporate sector.[15]
• He was one of the recipients of the NASSCOM Global Leadership Awards 2008, given at
a ceremony on February 14, 2008 in Mumbai. Ratan Tata accepted the Carnegie Medal of
Philanthropy in 2007 on behalf of the Tata family.[16][17]
• He was listed among the 25 most powerful people in business named by Fortune
magazine in November 2007.
• In May 2008 Mr Tata made it to the Time magazine's 2008 list of the World's 100 most
influential people. Tata was hailed for unveiling his tiny Rs. one lakh car 'Nano'.[18]
• On 26 January 2008, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian
decoration.[10]
• On 29 August 2008, the Government of Singapore conferred honorary citizenship on
Ratan Tata, in recognition of his abiding business relationship with the island nation and
his contribution to the growth of high-tech sectors in Singapore. Ratan Tata is the first
Indian to receive this honour.[19]
• After the 26 November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Forbes opined Ratan Tata be brought into
politics, calling him India's most respected business leader.[20]
• In 2009 he was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire[21].
• He has also been conferred an honorary doctorate in business administration by the Ohio
State University, an honorary doctorate in technology by the Asian Institute of
Technology, Bangkok, an honorary doctorate in science by the University of Warwick,
and an honorary fellowship by the London School of Economics.[10] He has recently
received an honorary Doctor of Law from the University of Cambridge.[22]
References
1. ^ http://www.tata.com/company/profile.aspx?sectid=DpOT+Lbrdvg=
2. ^ Sharma, Subramaniam (2006-10-18). "India's Tata Takes Leap With $7.6 Billion Corus
Bid (Update1)". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?
pid=20601087&sid=aQkYaQuODjtU&refer=home. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
3. ^ Times of India Article: Man of the Year? Its Ratan Tata
4. ^ "Faces of Enterprise: Ratan Tata". http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/jan/02tata.htm.
5. ^ "profile Tata". http://people.forbes.com/profile/ratan-n-tata/2766.
6. ^ India Today Power List 2009
7. ^ India Today Power List 2005
8. ^ Timmons, Heather (January 4, 2008). "Tata Pulls Ford Units Into Its Orbit". The New
York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/business/worldbusiness/04tata.html?
_r=1&sq=tata&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=7&adxnnlx=1238497443-
4R16x3p9Aj5a8CErvf45bw. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
9. ^ India Today 2005 Power List
10. ^ a b c d "Chairman Profile, Interviews and Press Articles". Tata Group Website.
http://indica.co.za/0_about_us/management/chairmans_chamber/media_articles_intervie
ws.htm.
11. ^ Board of Trustees, University of Southern California, Accessed April 13, 2008.
12. ^ Ratan Tata Joins USC Board of Trustees, USC News, August 30, 2005.
13. ^ "Ratan is honorary economic advisor of east China city resolve". Financial Express.
February 12, 2004. http://www.tata.com/company/Media/inside.aspx?
artid=ESnPtlGXDJM=.
14. ^ "The FIRST International Award for Responsible Capitalism".
http://www.firstmagazine.com/Awards/Year.aspx?Year=2006.
15. ^ "26th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education - Announcement".
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/March06/Tata.Hatfield.prewrite.html.
16. ^ "Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, 2007".
http://www.carnegiemedals.org/news/2007.html.
17. ^ "Tata: Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, 2007".
http://www.carnegiemedalspittsburgh.org/tata.html.
18. ^ "Ratan Tata on Time's most influential list". April 30, 2009.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733758_1735108,00.
html. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
19. ^ "Singapore honour for Ratan Tata". The Hindu. August 30, 2008.
http://www.tata.com/aboutus/articles/inside.aspx?artid=9f2wIWtlTAY=.
20. ^ "India's Obama Moment?". Forbes. 2008-12-03.
http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/02/ratan-tata-government-oped-
cx_rm_1203meredith.html. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
21. ^ http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/what-we-do/honours/honorary-awards-2009
UK Foreign Office
22. ^ "Honorary degree 2010 nominations announced". University of Cambridge. 17 March
2010. http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2010031504. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
 • Piramal, Gita (1997). Business Maharajas. New Delhi: Penguin. ISBN 0140264426
• Dubey, Rajiv (January 24, 2005). "Interview with Ratan Tata". Businessworld.
http://www.businessworldindia.com/jan2405/index.asp.
• "The Shy Architect: Ratan Tata has transformed India’s biggest company, and has
done it alone.". The Economist. January 11, 2006.
• "India's Tata wins race for Corus". BBC News. January 31, 2007.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6315823.stm.
• Sinha, Suveen K (February 5, 2007). "Ratan Tata: The man with steely resolve".
rediff.com. http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/feb/05tata.htm.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ratan Naval Tata

• Tata Group
• Ratan Tata's profile on the Tata Website

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Jamsetji Tata • Dorabji Tata • Nowroji Saklatwala • J. R. D. Tata • Ratan Tata

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Industries · Tata Voltas · The Indian Hotels Company · Trent (Westside)

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Ginger · Good Earth Teas · Tanishq · Taj Hotels · I-shakti · Tata Salt · Tata Sky · Tata
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Indicom · Tata DoCoMo · Titan · Westside · Voltas · Virgin Mobile India

Notable Jamsetji Tata · Dorabji Tata · Nowroji Saklatwala · J. R. D. Tata · Ratan Tata ·
People Pallonji Mistry
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratan_Naval_Tata"
Categories: Cornell University alumni | Indian businesspeople | Businesspeople in metals | Tata
family | Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan | Recipients of the Padma Bhushan | 1937 births |
Living people | Parsi people | Harvard Business School alumni | Industrialists | Recipients of the
Maharashtra Bhushan Award | Indian Zoroastrians
Hidden categories: Articles with hCards | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with
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