End of an era: Ratan Tata, titan of India Inc, passes away

Ratan Tata, one of the most respected businessmen not just in India, but around the world, has passed away in Mumbai at the age of 86. 

The chairman emeritus of Tata Sons was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai earlier this week. While Mr Tata had reassured people by issuing a statement that he was only undergoing medical checkups and there was no cause for concern, his condition is understood to have worsened and the clock stopped ticking on Wednesday night. 

Mr Tata leaves an indelible mark not just on the Tata Group, for the remarkable growth it achieved and for putting it firmly on the global map, but also the wider Indian industry. 

Ratan Tata graduated from the Cornell University in the US in 1962 with a bachelors in architecture. Later, in 1975 he would complete the advanced management programme at Harward Business School.

After passing out from Ccornell in 1962, Tata worked briefly with Jones and Emmons in Los Angeles, before returning to India the same year to join the Tata Group. He began his career at Tata Group with Tata Steel and in 1971 and was appointed director-in-charge of the National Radio and Electronics Company in 1971. A decade later in 1981, he was appointed as the chairman of Tata Industries, where he was responsible for transforming it into a group strategy think tank and a promoter of new ventures in high-technology businesses.

He became the chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate in 1991, succeeding the legendary JRD Tata and remained so till he retired on December 28, 2012. Over the period, he also served as the chairman of major Tata companies, which included Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Power, Tata Global Beverages (now called Tata Consumer Products), Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels and Tata Teleservices. Mr Tata was on the international advisory boards of Mitsubishi Corporation and JP Morgan Chase.

During Mr Tata's tenure as the chairman, Tata Group's revenues surged over 40 times to over $100 billion. He successfully navigated the group through many challenges like the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s or the global financial crisis of 2008. He was instrumental in the group's global expansion and acquisition of marquee brands like Tetley Tea and luxury car makers Jaguar and Land Rover.

Mr. Tata's networth was estimated to be around Rs 3,800 crore in 2022, according to the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List.

He was also instrumental in Tata Motors, the country's largest truck and bus maker, foraying into the car manufacturing business with the Indica hatchback. He was also the force behind the Tata Nano, the cheapest and perhaps the most practical city car of its time when it was launched in 2008. Constantly seeing Indian families on scooters with a child sandwiched between the mother and father, riding often on slippery roads was the motivation behind the development of Nano, he wrote many years later.

The Nano project was, however, besieged with problems right from the beginning. Protests against the project, forced Tata Motors to shift the plant from Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat, after having put in around Rs 1,000 crore initially. Then, safety concerns, after a few units caught fire, and the whole perception around the car (it was marketed as the cheapest car), led to the eventual failure of the project. The Nano was eventually discontinued in 2020.

Mr Tata stepped down as the chairman of Tata Sons in 2012, passing on the baton to Cyrus Mistry, the son of Pallonji Mistry. The Mistry family, which ran the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, held 18.4 per cent stake in Tata Sons. Mistry had proved his mettle at Shapporji Pallonji and at 44 was the youngest chairman of Tata Sons. However, few people saw what transpired four years later. In October 2016, Mistry, Mr Tata's handpicked successor, was unceremoniously sacked.

There were a lot of theories behind his ouster. Some attributed it to the lacklustre performance of some of the Tata Group companies, while some others pointed to Mistry's handling of crucial issues like his plans to sell the loss-making steel business in Europe and the full-blown legal dispute with Japan's NTT Docomo. Signs that relations were straining were visible early on when Mistry sacked Raymond Bickson, the then-managing director of Indian Hotels, in 2014, bringing in a veteran from rival Hyatt Hotels group.

While, Mr Tata had expanded the group globally with the acquisiton of dozens of companies like JLR, Tetley and Corus Steel, in turn, the debt also rose. Mistry, on the other hand, made several asset sales to bring down the debt. Mr Tata was reportedly unhappy with Mistry's plan to shutdown the loss-making steel business in Europe, rather than focusing on turning it around. The sale of some of the overseas properties of Indian Hotels also didn't go down well.

Eventually, on October 24, 2016, Mistry was fired, with the board naming Mr Tata as the interim chairman. Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the then-managing director and chief executive of software behemoth Tata Consultancy Services was later appointed as the Tata Sons Chairman in January 2017 and remains at the helm.

After the ouster, Mistry took legal recourse and a long battle ensued, with allegations and counter-allegations from both sides. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal reinstated Mistry as the chairman of Tata Sons in December 2019, but the Supreme Court stayed the decision, which was a big relief to the Tatas in January 2020. Mistry unfortunately died in a car crash in 2022.

As much as a leading businessman, Mr Tata was also a big supporter of philanthropy. Tata was the chairman of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Allied Trusts, and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Allied Trusts. He was the chairman of the Council of Management of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. He also served on the board of trustees of Cornell University and the University of Southern California.

The Tata Trusts have made notable contributions in the fields of education, medicine, skilling, environment, health and nutrition among many other things.

Apart from being a conventional grant-giving foundation, in order to maximise the impact of their work, Tata Trusts also chose to directly implement their interventional programmes, harness affordable and innovative technology, and forge collaborative partnerships.

Mr Tata is a huge animal lover. Earlier this year, his dream project, the Small Animal Hospital, opened its doors in Mumbai. Spread over a spacious 98,000 square-feet, the facility houses every possible diagnostic and treatment specialty offering advanced veterinary care. 

Mr Tata was honored by the government with its second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2008. He also received honorary doctorates from various universities in India and overseas. 

In 2023, the chairman emeritus of Tata Sons was also conferred Australia's highest civilian honour - The Order of Australia. 

Mr Tata remained a bachelor. He said a few years ago that he had come close to getting married four times, but eventually backed out for various reasons. Tata is survived by his half brother Noel Tata. Noel and his wife Aloo have three children - Neville, Leah and Maya.