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INDEX

INTRODUCTION EARLY LIFE WEALTH CAREER PERSONAL LIFE QUOTES SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RECORDS AWARDS AND RECONITION MAN OF THE YEAR? ITS RATAN TATA CONCLUSION

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Ratan Naval Tata (born December 28, 1937, in Mumbai) is the present Chairman of the Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate founded by Jamsedji Tata and consolidated and expanded by later generations of his family.

Tata was born into the wealthy and famous Tata family of Mumbai. He was born to Soonoo and Naval Hormusji Tata. Ratan is the great grandson of Tata group founder Jamsetji 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

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and both Ratan and his brother were raised by their grandmother Lady Navajbai. Ratan Tata completed a BSc degree in engineering with structural engineering from Cornell University in 1962, and the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School in 1975.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3][4]

Ratan Tata has his own capital in Tata Sons., the holding company of the group. His share is around 1%, valuing his personal holding at approximately US$ 1 Billion. About 66% of the equity capital of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts endowed by members of the Tata family. The biggest two of these trusts are the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, 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, giving him significant influence on the board of Tata Sons, despite his minority personal shareholding.

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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 labourintensive 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

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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 hightechnology 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).

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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. Recently when his plant for Nano production was obstructed by Mamta Banerjee, his decision of going out of West Bengal was warmly welcomed. Banerjee had the support of the people of Singur, where the Nano plant was being constructed, and many social movements. They criticised Ratan Tata for forcing people out of their land in collusion with the Left Front government in the state, headed by Budhadeb Bhattacharjee. On October 7, 2008, After a controversial stay in West Bengal, Ratan Tata and his men 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. 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. He successfully made a secret deal with Narendra Modi who agreed to give him a soft loan to the tune of approximately $10 billion to make the car in Gujarat. The car was launched on March 23, 2009 amid much fanfare with advance bookings that preceded its launch by months.

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Mr. Ratan Tata has a metallic blue, ferari california and many more cars Maserati. He sometimes likes to fly his private jet himself. He has a Falcon Jet. He has never been married.

Quotes
"Question the unquestionable." & "a promise is a promise,"

The TATA Group is widely believed to make the largest contribution to charity of any corporation in India. However, during his tenure as Chairman of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata has come in for criticism from human rights and environmental activists for the TATA Groups record in this sector and the apparent reluctance to address these issues at the Group level.

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Kalinganagar, Orissa: On January 2, 2006, policemen at Kalinganagar, Orissa, opened fire at a crowd of tribal villagers. The villagers were protesting the construction of a compound wall on land historically owned by them, for a Tata steel plant. Some of the corpses were returned to the families in a mutilated condition. When pushed for comment, TATA officials said the incident was unfortunate but that it would continue with its plans to set up the plant.[10] Dow Chemicals, Bhopal Gas Disaster: In November 2006, survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster were outraged by Ratan Tatas offer to bail out Union Carbide and facilitate investments by Carbides new owner Dow Chemical. Tata had proposed leading a charitable effort to clean-up the toxic wastes abandoned by Carbide in Bhopal. At a time when the Government of India has held Dow Chemical liable for the clean-up and requested Rs. 100 crores from the American MNC, survivors groups felt that Tatas offer was aimed at frustrating legal efforts to hold the company liable, and motivated by a desire to facilitate Dows investments in India.[11] TATA supplies to Burmas military regime: TATA Motors reported deals to supply hardware and automobiles to Burmas oppressive and anti-democratic military junta has come in for criticism from human rights and democracy activists. In December 2006, Gen. Thura Shwe Mann, Myanmars chief of general staff visited the Tata Motors plant in Pune. ["Myanmar Ties." December 8, 2006. The Telegraph, Calcutta, India]. In 2009, TATA Motors announced that it would press ahead with plans to manufacture trucks in Myanmar.[12],[13] Singur displacement: The Singur controversy[14] in West Bengal led to further questions over TATAs social record, with protests by local villagers and some political parties over forcible eviction and inadequate compensation to those being displaced for the TATA Nano plant. As the protests gathered steam, and despite having the support of the ruling CPI(M) government, TATA eventually pulled the project out of the state of West Bengal, citing safety concerns. The Singur controversy was one

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of the few occasions when Ratan Tata was forced to publicly address criticisms and concerns on any environmental or social issue. Ratan Tatas subsequent embrace of and praise for Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, also earned him brickbats on account of Modis openly communal stance and his performance as Chief Minister during the 2002 pogrom that saw hundreds of Muslims killed in riots within the state.[15] Dhamra Port: On the environmental front, the Dhamra port controversy has received significant coverage, both within India and in Tatas emerging global markets. (India Tata in troubled waters, Ethical Corporation, November 2007, London, UK)[16] The Dhamra port, a venture between TATA Steel and Larsen & Toubro, has come in for criticism for its proximity to the Gahirmatha Sanctuary and Bitharkanika National Park, from Indian and international organizations, including Greenpeace. Gahirmatha is one of the worlds largest mass nesting sites for the olive ridley turtle and Bitharkanika is a designated Ramsar site and Indias second largest mangrove forest. TATA officials have denied that the port poses an ecological threat, and stated that mitigation measures are being employed with the advice of the IUCN.[17] On the other hand, conservation organizations, including Greenpeace, have pointed out that no proper Environment Impact Analysis has been done for the project, which has undergone changes in size and specifications since it was first proposed and that the port could interfere with mass nesting at the Gahirmtha beaches and the ecology of the Bitharkanika mangrove forest.[18],[19] Protests by Greenpeace to Dhamra Port construction is also alleged to be less on factual data and more on hype and DPCL's (Dhamra Port Company Limited) response to Greenpeace questions harbours on these facts [20],[21]. Nevertheless, if good intentions prevail on both sides, we can have progress on sustainable development in one of the poorest parts of India, benefitting the society immensely.

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On the occasion of India's 58th 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. On 26 January 2008 he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian decoration. He was one of the recipients of the NASSCOM Global Leadership Awards-2008 given away 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. [22][23] 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. 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.[24] 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.[25][26] 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. 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. In

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February 2004, Ratan Tata was conferred the title of honorary economic advisor to Hangzhou city in the Zhejiang province of China. He recently received an honorary doctorate from the London School of Economics and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.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'. 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. After the 26 November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Forbes opined Ratan Tata be brought into politics, calling him India's most respected business In 2009 he was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire[28].

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Man of the year? It's Ratan Tata

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was run out for 0 in his ODI debut and made 30 on his Test debut. Somewhat like Ratan Tata, whose managerial start with Nelco was largely nixed and involvement with the legendary Empress Mills met with modest success. But that's where any forced comparison between the son of Ranchi and the scion of Jamshedpur should stop. What Ratan Tata has done to put India on the world business and corporate map this year, starting with his journey in 1991, will take the delightful Dhoni many careers to accomplish. As Tata celebrated his 70th birthday on Friday, he could bask in the glow of recognition from Fortune, the Wisden of business, which has listed him among the 25 most influential businessmen in the world. Nothing in Tata's early life presaged this. An indirect descendant of the great Jamshedji, Ratan Tata had a tough childhood, his parents divorcing when he was only seven. After attending Mumbai's Campion School, he went to Cornell in the US, where he earned a degree in architecture and structural engineering, hardly qualifications for building great companies.

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When he returned to India after turning down a job with IBM on the advice of JRD, he was sent to Jamshedpur to work the floor at Tata Steel with other blue-collar employees, shovelling limestone and handling the blast furnace. The trial by fire at the bottom of the pecking order would stand him in good stead. His managerial career did not start auspiciously. Given charge of Nelco and Telco during the license-permit raj, he struggled to put them on the rails and might well have thought he was running Hell-co. Tata satraps breathed down his neck; critics said he looked out of depth. JRD's decision to pass the baton on to him in 1991 coincided with the start of India's economic reforms. After a period of consolidation, Ratan Tata came into his own. In 1998, he undertook a huge gamble with India's first indigenously manufactured people's car', appropriately termed Indica. Two years later, he surpassed that with an astonishing $435 million deal for Tetley, the most English of teas and companies, in what was then the biggest acquisition in Indian history. It was a forerunner to a wave of international expansion by Indian businesses in IT and pharma business. The west began to take notice. But even that was chump change compared to what followed. Over the next five years, Ratan Tata led an acquisition spree that has expanded the group to a nearly 100-company behemoth that makes everything from salt to software, to shortly, swish cars. Few events shook the

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corporate world more than Tatas' $21-billion acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus, an event that would have filled his great forbear Jamshedji with pride. The quiet understated powerhouse now includes the world's second largest tea business (Tata Tea); Asia's largest software firm (Tata Consultancy Services); the world's fifth largest steel giant (Tata Steel); a plush worldwide hotel chain (Indian Hotels); the world's fifth largest truck maker (Tata Motors) and an automobile manufacturing spectrum that spans everything from a bicycle factory in Zambia, a $2,500 cheap car, South Korea's Daewoo commercial vehicle, to soon $50,000 luxury Jaguar models. Ratan Tata has done it without experimenting with his hairstyle, riding fancy motorbikes or dating Bollywood heroines (he remains single.) In a recent interview, he confessed he "never had the desire to own a yacht". But the global corporate world now knows that if ever he spots a yachtmaking business which he can grow, he might buy it. Man of the year? It's a no-contest. By several innings and tons of runs, it's Ratan Tata.

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Ratan Tata : India's Industrial Architect

Ratan Naval Tata, the Chairman of the Tata Group, one of the largest group of industries ; something he inherits from his earlier generation. Brought up by his grandmother due to seperation of his parents, Ratan Tata did his schooling from Cathedral and John Cannon School in Mumbai. Later on he got his Architectural and Engineering Degree from Cornell University. From here he joined his famiy busines. After turning down a job offer from IBM, he joined the Jamshedpur Tata Steel plant working with the Blue Collar employess handling blast furnances.

Peek in the Past

In 1971, Ratan Tata joined Nelco and turned it into a profit churning company. Later on when he joined the sick unit of Tatas Empress Mill, he turned it into a dividend declaring company.In 1981 he was declared the Chairman of the Tata Group of Industries.Today the Company has been listed in New York Stock Exchange.

The Story So Far

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The young lad who left the IBM job and brewed the corridors of his own company, is today the Chairman of Tata Group of Companies and has his company listed in New York Exchange. His latest expedition is the Tata Elegante the latest Tata four wheeler he presented at the Geneva Car Expo. The Recognition Honoured with Padma Bhushan he is a memeber on Prie Ministers Council on Trade and Industry. Ratan Tata was also honoured by Cornell University as the 26th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, considered to be the highest honour by the Cornell University. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the RAND Corporation. He is board member on the Republic of South Africa's International Investment Council and is a Asia-Pacific advisory committee member for the New York Stock Exchange

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