Ratan Tata was one of the world's most influential industrialists yet he never appeared on any list of billionaires. He controlled over 30 companies that operated in over 100 countries across six continents yet lived an unpretentious life. Ratan Naval Tata, who died at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday night at the age of 86 years, enjoyed a perhaps unique status -- a corporate titan who was considered a 'secular living saint' with a reputation for decency and integrity.
There were certainly qualities adhering to the Tata Group, which emanated from the persona of Ratan Tata. Most notable of these would be the low profile he maintained, which sharply contrasted the in-your-face celebrity status, celebration of wealth and pursuit of importance many of liberalised India's rich, love, notes Shyam G Menon.
Pallon has already joined the boards of some of the unlisted companies such as Afcons
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An exclusive excerpt from The Tatas: How A Family Built A Business And A Nation.
'He had a lovely, lovely, sense of humour, very subdued and very, very subtle, but it was very, very, prominent.'
'It is notable how humble he was and didn't want anything different just because he was a Tata.'
'He was a practical person who ensured that he thought about the common man, animals, the fact that they have a life and they have to be respected.'
'She was lying there and I mustered up enough guts to lay next to her and hold her tight.' 'And she said, "Oh my, Girish, isn't he supposed to be nervous?"' 'Making light of the situation, Girish said, "No, he's been practicing with a pillow the whole day".'
What could be the reason for this swift change in less than four years of Mistry taking charge? People in the know said it was building up. The latest trigger was Tata Power's acquisition of Welspun Renewables' solar and power assets
'What's sad today is that there are so many people who cannot find work, not because the country is devoid of that opportunity, but because we are not doing enough in the country.'
Unless new members are inducted at jet speed, the strength of Tata Sons board will come down to four in July.
'I think some of us, like Mukesh Ambani, myself and those of us who head industrial units, ought to really focus on what we can really do to make the world a safer place, maybe 50 or 100 years from now.' 'For instance, how can we deal with climate change and global warming, right now?' 'The effects of it may not be felt now; in fact, we may pay a price for it today, but it will help the generations to follow.'
A naturally reclusive nature and a conviction for the work to do the talking meant there was very little known about Mistry even during his time at the helm of Tata Sons. He did not do a single media interview from Bombay House.
Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was on Sunday killed in a road accident after his car hit a divider in Maharashtra's Palghar district neighbouring Mumbai, a police official said.
If Cyrus's protestations of having no knowledge of his imminent dismissal are to be taken at face value, he was extraordinarily naive and insulated from the ground reality. There were enough straws in the wind to suggest that his relations with Ratan were fast deteriorating to a point of no return.
Few people know Ratan Tata as well as R K Krishna Kumar does. Widely perceived to be among the managers closest to Tata, Krishna Kumar assesses Ratan Tata, the man and business leader, in this exclusive interview to Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
'He wanted to learn all the time.'
Bombay House, the headquarters of the Tata group in Mumbai, has become India's first heritage building to get "gold" rating by Indian Green Building Council.
The protesters staged a sit-in at the main entrance of Bombay House.
Tata, who attended the annual gala event at the National Centre of Performing Arts after five years, was alluding to Chandra's presentation on the performance of the Tata group of companies.
Who will win the ugly war within the Samajwadi Party's ruling family? Who will emerge victorious in the unlikely battle at Bombay House, the Tatas HQ?
Mistry was groomed for the assignment by Tata for a year.
Ratan Tata, an iconic corporate leader, retired as chairman of Tata Group after a 50-year run on Friday but kept away from office on his last day at the helm of one of country's oldest business empires. Tata, who turned 75 today, is in Pune for his birthday.
'Cyrus was also generous, hospitable, sharing of whatever he had.' 'He never ever acted like the inheritor of great wealth.'
'Cyrus was always very different. He would think before acting.'
Three persons were killed on Wednesday and another injured after a major fire broke out at the Bombay House building, housing the Tata Group offices in South Mumbai.
Chandrasekaran served TCS for three decades as it rose to become the largest IT company in the country and also the crown jewel for Tata Sons
Tata Sons has started the process of due diligence of state-owned Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express. Sources said the group has appointed Bain and Company and Seabury Group for this purpose. Once complete, a financial bid will be submitted and a deal to take over the airline is likely to fructify by end of this year or even earlier, people involved in the process said. Simultaneously, the group has brought in veterans in the aviation business from Delta and United Airlines to prepare a plan for post-merger integration of Air India with its existing airline ventures. Tata Sons operates Vistara - a 51:49 percent joint venture with Singapore Airlines and Air Asia India, in which Tatas hold 83.67 per cent stakes.
'I think Ratan felt he had to do everything that he could to retain control of the company started by his forefathers, because that was the first priority and nothing else mattered compared to that.'
R Venkataramanan, the managing trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust who is responsible for all Tata-run trusts, prefers to keep a low profile but has emerged as a power centre in the group - with more clout than many established CEOs, says Dev Chatterjee.
Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group was among "multiple" entities who on Monday put in preliminary bids for buying the government's stake in loss-making carrier Air India.
Mukund Rajan, who worked closely with Ratan Tata, recalls the unique experience of working with the corporate titan.
Stating that his role is for the short term so as to ensure stability and continuity at the group, Tata asked top executives of the USD 100 billion conglomerate to act as leaders in respective markets and focus on enhancing returns to shareholders.
Take the Rediff Biz Quiz and find out how much you know about India and its giant business conglomerate, the Tata Group.
Tata group's market value is up 38% against the 9% rise in the Sensex in the past 12 months.
Sources familiar with the developments say the growing consensus in the committee set up to find a successor to chairman Ratan Tata is that an internal candidate should be the preferred option.
Industry minister hints at inviting Mistry to the upcoming annual industrial meet.
Mr Tata said a letter had arrived in his office from a young woman who had applied for the graduate engineering programme of TELCO Pune and been turned down. 'I wouldn't interfere with your selection process, Maira,' he said. 'However, I am calling you because this lady says that her rejection letter says that though she is very well qualified for the programme, TELCO Pune cannot select her because she is a woman.' 'Why are you discriminating against women?' he asked. A must read excerpt from Arun Maira's The Learning Factory: How The Leaders Of Tata Became Nation Builders.
Ratan Tata has invested an undisclosed amount in an entity catering to pet care.
