$1,000,000,000
Ratan Tata
Net Worth
Born in (City)
Surat
Born in (Country)
India
Date of Birth
28th December, 1937
Date of Death
-
Mother
Sooni Tata
Father
Naval Tata
About
Ratan Naval Tata (born 28 December 1937) is an Indian industrialist, philanthropist, and a former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also chairman of Tata Group, from 1990 to 2012, and again, as interim chairman, from October 2016 through February 2017, and continues to head its charitable trusts. He is the recipient of two of the highest civilian awards of India, the Padma Vibhushan (2008) and Padma Bhushan (2000). Born in 1937, he is a scion of the Tata family, and son of Naval Tata who was adopted by Sir Ratan Tata son of Jamsetji Tata, the founder of Tata Group. He is an alumnus of the Cornell University College of Architecture and Harvard Business School through the Advanced Management Program that he completed in 1975. He joined his company in 1961 when he used to work on the shop floor of Tata Steel, and was the apparent successor to J. R. D. Tata upon the latter's retirement in 1991. He got Tata Tea to acquire Tetley, Tata Motors to acquire Jaguar Land Rover, and Tata Steel to acquire Corus, in an attempt to turn Tata from a largely India-centrist group into a global business.
Early Life
Ratan Tata was born in Bombay, now Mumbai, on 28 December 1937, and is the son of Naval Tata (born in Surat). His biological maternal grandmother had been the sister of Hirabai Tata, wife of group founder Jamshedji Tata. His biological grandfather, Hormusji Tata, had belonged to the broader Tata family; Ratan therefore was a Tata by birth. Parents Naval and Sonoo separated in 1948 when Ratan was 10, and he was subsequently raised by the widow of Sir Ratanji Tata, his grandmother, Navajbai Tata, who formally adopted him through the J. N. Petit Parsi Orphanage. He has a half-brother, Noel Tata (from Naval Tata's second marriage with Simone Tata), with whom he was raised. His first language is Gujarati. He studied at the Campion School, Mumbai till the 8th class, followed by Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai and at Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, and, in 1955, graduated from Riverdale Country School in New York City. In 1959, he then received a degree in Architecture from Cornell University, and in 1975, attended the seven-week Advanced Management Program of Harvard Business School — an institution which he has since endowed.
Road to Success
Living by the philosophy, Tata has always shown keenness in new ventures and potential technologies. He has made several small and big investments in several start-ups and next-gen technologies. He invested in bitcoin venture Abra along with American Express. Also, collaborated with a few Pune-based designers to steer a plan to provide clean drinking water to the marginalised section in rural areas. The result is Swach, an indigenously designed sub-1000 water purifier. Tata Motors has also rolled out the first batch of Tigor Electric Vehicle from its manufacturing plant in Sanand, Gujrat. Tata is a true embodiment of leadership, who always believed in putting a humane face before commercial gains. He is involved in numerous philanthropic activities providing quality life, education in rural India. He has received great recognition in his lifetime. In 2000, the government of India decorated him with Padma Bhushan, and in 2008, he received Padma Vibhushan. Apart from that, he was awarded several international accolades including Honorary Doctorates from Ohio State University, University of Warwick, and Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok.
His fortune stands at a staggering volume of GBP 300 million, but he owns less than 1 percent in the colossal conglomerate of Tata Groups. Majority of Tata Group shares are owned by several charitable trusts that finance several philanthropic activities. A remarkable human being and industrialist, amazingly Ratan Tata never featured in ‘Forbes billionaires list.
Challenges
Ratan Tata is one of the most celebrated industrialists in the country. The man is known for generosity, moral principles, empathy and business ethics. The way he led Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, from 1991 till his retirement on December 28, 2012, is remarkable. The octagenarian was the Chairman of the major Tata companies, including Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Power, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels and Tata Teleservices and during his tenure, the group’s revenues grew manifold, totalling over $100 billion in 2011-12. Note that Tata joined the Tata group in 1962. After serving in various companies, he was appointed Director-in-charge of the National Radio & Electronics Company Limited in 1971. In 1981, he was named Chairman of Tata Industries, the group’s other holding company, where he was responsible for transforming it into a group strategy think-tank, and a promoter of new ventures in high technology businesses. While his tenure as chairman was stellar and the group grew significantly under his leadership, it's not as if he didn't face any challenge. From launching the first indigenous car to iconic deals such as the Jaguar Land Rover acquisition in 2008, Tata went through several hoops for the success of the company and country. In a recent interaction with YourStory, Tata shared how empathy helped him overcome one of the biggest challenges in his over two-decade-long career. Tata recalled how empathy played a key role in 2008 when Tata Motors acquired Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in the UK. He told the publication, "In Coventry, where the plant was located, there were rumours that we were going to close down the factory." At that time, there was no question that odds were certainly stacked against Tata Motors, with resistive employees who were uncertain about the future. During that time, Tata empathised with the employees and reached out to them in a town hall meeting, where all their concerns were addressed in a transparent manner.
Failures
Tata group Chairman Emeritus Rata Tata on Monday asked employees of Tata Motors to plan on becoming leaders again, saying it hurt him when the auto maker lost market share in the last 4-5 years and the country looked at it as a 'failing company'. Tata, who addressed the annual townhall of employees — a tradition which he started on the start of every new fiscal year — after a gap of almost five years, said that under the leadership of Chairman N Chandrasekaran and MD Guenter Butschek, Tata Motors will continue to build in the future. "I was proud to belong to Tata Motors because there was nothing that we undertook to do that we didn't make a damn good try at achieving, be it the products, be it the entry into the passenger car area, new systems," Tata said recollecting the past ethos of the company in Pune. Commenting on the decline that the company has witnessed in the recent past, he added, "It hurt me that we lost market share in the last four to five years and we became the company that the country looked at as a failing company." In 2016-17 Tata Motors' standalone gross revenues was at Rs 491 billion, up 3.6 per cent from the previous year but the loss after tax, on a standalone basis, was Rs 24.80 billion compared to Rs 620 million in the previous year. Moreover, its commercial vehicles had lost share in the domestic market, down to 44.4 per cent in March 2017 from a high of nearly 60 per cent five years before that. In the passenger vehicles business, it struggled to keep pace with competitors. However, in 2017-18, the company has been able to improve its sales significantly. Its cumulative domestic sales of commercial and passenger vehicles segments for FY18 were 586,639 units compared to 478,362 units in FY17, a growth of 23 per cent. "In all the years that I was here, I really believed that this company had tremendous spirit and tremendous capabilities. I stand here today, and I'm happy to see the same spirit, that same doability is back together. That's terrific," Tata said, who retired as Chairman of the company in 2012.
Achievements
In 2000, he was conferred the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honor awarded by the Government of India.|In 2004, he received the ‘Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay’ from the Government of Uruguay.|In 2005, he was conferred the ‘International Distinguished Achievement Award’ by the B'nai B'rith International.|In 2008, he was awarded the ‘Padma Vibhusan’, the second highest civilian honor awarded by the Government of India.|In 2009, he received the ‘Award of 'Grand Officer' of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic’ from the Government of Italy.|In 2009, he was awarded the title of Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, United Kingdom.|In 2010, he won the ‘Oslo Business for Peace Award’ presented by the Business for Peace Foundation.|In 2014, he was conferred the ‘Honorary Knight Grand Cross of The Order of the British Empire’.
Quotes
- I don't believe in taking right decisions. I take decisions and then make them right.
- There are many things that, if I have to relive, maybe I will do it another way. But I would not like to look back and think what I have not been able to do.
- Take the stones people throw at you. And use them to build a monument.
- If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together