Follow the footprints A biography of Ratan TataJanuary 31st, 2007 the Tata Group pulled off one of the

biggest acquisitions inIndian corporate history. The Corus Group, an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminumconglomerate was taken over by the Tata Sons against an astounding 6.7 billionat the rate of 608 pence per share against a Brazilian steel company that had bid603 pence. Ratan Tata is regarded as the doyen of the new era of businessenterprises in the Indian mainland. The 21st century has at last, it is said, a truepatron by whom the Indians can dream of a world contest by virtue of intelligence, entrepreneurship and perseverance. Of the very little informationabout Ratan Tata in the public domain, it is well known that he had a troubledchildhood.Ratan Tata was born into an old Parsi family of Bombay, the first child of Soonoo& Naval Hormusji Tata. His parents separated in the mid1940s, when he wasabout 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.During college, Ratan joined Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity (One of the oldest socialfraternity of the United Statesfounded at Yale in 1845 ).In 1962, after graduatingfrom Cornell University with a degree in Architecture and Structural engineering,Ratan joined the family business. Ratan turned down a job offer from IBM,following the advice of J.R.D Tata, and entered the family business. He was sentto Jamshedpur to work at Tata Steel. In true Tata fashion, there he worked on thefloor along with other blue-collar employees, shovelling limestone and handlingthe blast furnaces. In 1971, he was appointed director-in-charge of The NationalRadio & Electronics Company (NELCO), a company that was in dire financialdifficulty, no one; perhaps his best wisher even thought of its success. But Ratanrealizing the potential that Nelco provided with an innate prudence that hi-tech was the way to go in the future; he lost no time and convinced J.R.D. Tata forfurther investment. Though J.R.D. was reluctant initially but the successes of Nelco proved the credence and aplomb of Ratan.This mindset of adopting risks towards the escalation of business gained a new stronghold when in 1991 the legendary J.R.D. Tata was replaced by Ratanepitomizing not only the change of the old guard but also a definite alteration of the shibboleth self-content of the erstwhile generations. By the time JRD passedaway in December 1993, it was clear that Ratan Tatas vision for consolidatinggroup companies under the Tata Sons banner had the patriarchs stamp of approval. As Indias second round of economic liberalisation got underway, theTatas holding company gradually increased its shareholding in group companieslike Tisco (now Tata Steel), Telco (now Tata Motors), Tata Chemicals and TataTea. Under him Tata Consultancy Services went public and Tata Motors waslisted in the New York Stock Exchange.In 1998, Tata Motors came up with Tata Indica, the first truly Indian car. The car was the brainchild of Ratan Tata.His aggressive approach towards business was best revealed when on January 31st, 2007 the Tata Group pulled off one of the biggest acquisitions in Indian corporate history. The Corus Group, an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminum conglomerate was taken over by the Tata Sons againstan astounding 6.7 billion at the rate of

608 pence per share against a Braziliansteel company that had bid 603 pence. The merger created the sixth largest steelproducing entity in the world and at once made Ratan Tata an immortal figure inthe history of Indian corporate business culture. Another feather of success gotattached with this man when he presented the latest Tata fourwheeler model TataElegante at Geneva on March 6, 2007. This model was appreciated by all theglobal dealers of four-wheelers. In the meeting he told the press about his Singur-small-car plant. According to him, manufacture is going to start there soon andthe first small car costing around Rs 1 lakh is going to be launched by the middleof 2008. With the Tatas growing from Rs 13,000 crore group in 1993 to Rs 1.5lakh crore following the acquisition of Corus, all eyes are now on the reclusiveRatan Tata.The US-educated bachelor lives alone with his two German Shepherds in anapartment in downtown Mumbai. He is known to slip into the front seatalongside his driver to and from work. He is the man who was instrumental in thesetting up of the Tata Foundation, the progenitor of multitude of social causesthat include the rural, universal health development, eradication of water scarcity and others. Known to guard his privacy jealously, Ratan Tata has been spotted atParsi fire temples on festival days. He is known to be a supporter of thetraditional Parsi way of life and is believed to have funded the religious educationof community youngsters. However Tatas publicists do not comment on thisaspect of his life and the only bits of information trickle out from community members. He has a passion for homecooked food and is known to indulge deeply in art collection. Along the way, the trained pilot who still takes to the skies on hisown aircraft has picked up a number of awards like the Padma Bhushan andForbes Asias Businessman of the Year award. He serves in senior capacities in various organisations in India and he is a member of the Prime Minister'sCouncil on Trade and Industry. In March 2006 he was honoured by CornellUniversity as the 26th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education,considered the highest honor the university awards to distinguished individualsfrom the corporate sector. From being solely linked to the success of the Indianeconomy, the Tata Group under Ratan Tata is looking at other destinations. Eventroubled destinations like Sudan and Iran are on Tata's radar. Having taken birthin a family that has earned its fame in the history of indigenousentrepreneurship, whose ample evidences are scattered through the length and breadth of India he has done justice to his legacy, which has been provedeloquently in the later years.The Tata Titans1. Jamsetji Tata: The founder of the Tata Group began with a textile mill incentral India in the 1870s.His powerful vision inspired the steel and powerindustries in India. 2.

Sir Dorab Tata: Through his endeavours in setting up Tata Steel and TataPower, this elder son of Jamsetji Tata was instrumental in transforminghis father's grand vision into reality.3. Sir Ratan Tata: A philanthropist all his life, he created a trust fund for "theadvancement of learning and for the relief of human suffering and other works of public utility".4. JRD Tata: The late chairman of the Tata Group pioneered civil aviation onthe subcontinent in 1932 by launching the airline now known as Air India.5. Naval Tata: Naval Tata's myriad contributions in the fields of business,sports administration and labour relations symbolised all that is best inthe Tata spirit of giving back to society.

In the past five years, the cumulative investments in the Big Six touched Rs 22,776.12 crore (Rs227.76 billion), with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.49 per cent.Add to this

the upturn in many of its businesses like steel and auto in the same period, and boththe return on capital employed (ROCE) and return on net worth (RONW) for many of thecompanies impacted positively.Take two of the group's most capital intensive businesses -- auto and steel. Since 2002, TataSteel's ROCE galloped from 2.51 per cent to 22.13 per cent in 2004. Its RONW jumped sevenfold to 38.67 per cent. Tata Motors' negative 1.13 per cent ROCE in 2002 sped to 16.71 per centlast year with its RONW tipping at 22.57 per cent.Says Sanjiv Anand, regional director, Asia/Middle East, Cedar Consulting, "The primary responsibility of a CEO is to deliver on the financial performance of the company. The non-financials become important in order to achieve and sustain the financial parameters."Hussain says today, Tata Steel and Tata Motors along with TCS chip in 75 per cent of the group's revenues and profits. What brought about these results? "Many of its flagships slugged it out with competition admirably," says a consultant. Tata Steel has become the world's lowest-cost producer. TataMotors virtually breasted the tape with its indigenously produced Indica and Indigo [Images]cars. The TCS scrip closed last Wednesday at Rs 1,308.Today, passenger cars drive 52.5 per cent of Tata Motors' revenues, up from 49.5 per cent three years ago. Its market share in commercial vehicles has gone up from 31.98 per cent in FY04 to34.59 per cent last year. In comparison, competitor Ashok Leyland [Get Quote] saw its market share skid from 17.47 per cent to 15.19 per cent. Granted, there are laggards. Indian Hotels saw its ROCE plunge from 8.31 per cent five years ago to 2.68 per cent last year. Tata Tea is down from 11.32 per cent to 7.97 per cent. Does this mean that the group's success is due to the cyclical upturn that coincided for its firms? Perhaps. "That's all part of being in business," says an investment banker. Seize the world In fact, to hedge the cyclical nature of some of his flagships, and with growing competition in thedomestic market, most of the Tata companies are going global. Apart from bagging orders fromoverseas, they are acquiring foreign companies."Globalisation is the way to go for us," Tata said recently. "A global footprint is very important for the group to remain competitive," adds J J Irani, the erstwhile managing director of Tata Steel. So even as it picked up Tetley, UK, five years ago, it has accelerated its shopping spree in the past one year. In March 2004, Tata Motors acquired the heavy commercial vehicle business of Daewoo Motors in Korea and followed it up with design house Hispano Carrocera. Six months later, Tata Steel acquired Singapore's NatSteel, and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited picked up the world's most extensive submarine cable systems company Tyco Global Network inthe US.TCS acquired Phoenix Global Solutions and more recently, Indian Hotels extended its footprint in the US by bagging a management contract for the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan.

There have been misses as well, like the more recent Tata Chemicals' [Get Quote ] bid for Egyptian Fertilisers. Or Tata Motors' Rover deal in Europe, which fell through. But these efforts,according to industry experts, still do not single out the group as being aggressive."Despite incumbency, it is not able to make the best of opportunities. Look at

telecom. Anunknown Mittal comes and grabs the market," says the head of a leading consulting firm.He also points out to the group's late start into biotech. Adds a senior Tata manager, "Our decision-making is loose. Everyone is not progressing on the front equally."Hussain, however, concedes that telecom is a bigger challenge. "Just don't go by the numbers.We believe that in the long term the quality of service and customer care will be the key tosurvival," he says. The people paradox Human resource is another issue. That Tata has personally led the company for almost 15 yearsand set up the Tata Business Excellence Model to trade best practices, hasn't improved hisreputation.It is felt that the leadership at most of the Tata companies lacks the dynamism of many of itscompetitors and is not demanding of its managers."We are organised more like a telephony model system, which is not one of command-and-control, but one where multiple activities are happening," says a Tata manager.Could it be its unusual group structure, where the parent company (TSL) is unlisted while itsoffspring are? Perhaps, say consultants. But some Tata managers are candid about what needs to be done. "Building a future cadre of leadership is necessary for us. But, until now, job rotationwas unheard of in the company," reveals a Tata manager.So where does the group go from here? "We have a solid middle class that gives us longevityand staying power. Everybody is being challenged. We want to be a truly internationalcompany," says a Tata Sons director. Nandini Lakshman & Gouri ShuklaSource:Biography Ratan. Ratan Tata became the Chairman of the Tata Group in 1981 after serving as Chairman in charge of theNelco division of the group. Tata is India's largest conglomerate and includes the brands Tata Motors,Tata Steel, Tata Power, Indian Hotels, as well as other brands labeled under the Tata name.Ratan Tata was born on December 28, 1937 in Mumbai, India in one of the richest families in thecountry. His great grandfather, Jamsedji Tata, was the founder of the Tata group and passed the power and inheritance down to his family. Ratan Tata grew up in a broken household, however, after hisparents split in the mid-1940s and he and his brother were raised by their grandmother, Lady Navajbai.Tata was a good student and studied hard at the Campion School in Mumbai followed by studies inarchitecture and structural engineering at Cornell University. He graduated with his bachelors degree in1962 and joined the Tata Group in December of that same year. Tata's first job with the Group involvedworking with the Tata Steel division where he worked with the blue-collar employees shoveling stoneand working with the furnaces.Although this original job was physically difficult, it helped Ratan Tata gain a better understanding and

appreciation for the business and he gradually began taking on more responsibility. In 1971, Tatabecame Director-in-Charge of the National Radio & Electronics Company

Limited (Nelco) in order tohelp its struggling finances. Ratan Tata helped build a better consumer electronics division but theeconomic recession and union strikes prevented his vision from taking hold.Tata was eventually moved to Empress Mills in 1977, a struggling textile mill within the Tata Group.Ratan Tata renewed the vision for the mill but the larger Tata Group was not in agreement with hisadvice. Instead, the mill was shut down and liquidated in 1986, to Tata's disappointment, and he wasmoved to the Tata Industries, another holding company.With Tata Industries, Ratan Tata was able to transform the management and vision of the division andbring in significantly larger dividends. This renewed financial success helped bring the Tata Group tothe New York Stock Exchange and gave the company even more international power and prestige.Ratan Tata continued to acquire different industries for the Tata Group, eventually purchasing the steelan aluminum producer, Corus Group as well as Jaguar and Land Rover brands from the FordCompany.Ratan Tata lives a very private life in Mumbai, India.This Ratan Tata biography may not be reproduced online.Copyright Woopidoo.com (ek) Ratan Tata Quotes One hundred years from now, I expect the Tatas to be much bigger than it is now. More importantly, Ihope the Group comes to be regarded as being the best in India.. best in the manner in which weoperate, best in the products we deliver, and best in our value systems and ethics. Having said that, Ihope that a hundred years from now we will spread our wings far beyond India.RatanTata-India - Best -Products- Ethics-GrowthInspirationalI am proud of my country. But we need to unite to make a unified India, free of communalism andcasteism. We need to build India into a land of equal opportunity for all. We can be a truly greatnation if we set our sights high and deliver to the people the fruits of continued growth, prosperity andequal opportunity.RatanTata-India - GrowthProud -Opportunity-Great- Wealth