Ratan Tata is a prominent business tycoon, philanthropist, and an iconic figure whose success story is an inspiration for generations. Tata Group is India’s prestigious multinational conglomerate established in the year 1868. It is headquartered in Mumbai and operates in various sectors like automotive, steel, information technology, telecommunications etc. Mr. Ratan Tata was the Chairman of Tata Group from the year 1990 to 2012 and was the interim Chairman from October 2016 to February 2017. Mr. Ratan Tata has been a man of vision since the beginning of his career and his extraordinary skills have inspired generations across the globe.
Who is Ratan Tata?
Mr. Ratan Naval Tata is the son of Naval Tata who was adopted by Ratanji Tata son of Jamsetji Tata, the founder of Tata Group. He received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University College of Architecture. He joined Tata in 1961, where he worked at the Tata Steel plant. He later succeeded as the Chairman of Tata Sons in the year 1991.
Ratan Tata Personal Life
Ratan Tata was born in Mumbai on 28th December 1937 in a Parsi Zoroastrian family. He is the son of Naval Tata who was born in Surat and was later adopted into the Tata family and heard the prophecy of Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group. Tata’s biological grandfather, Hormusji Tata, was a member of the Tata family by blood relation. In 1948, when Tata was 10, his parents separated and he was subsequently raised and adopted by Navajbai Tata, his grandmother and the widow of Ratanji Tata.
He has a younger brother Jimmy Tata and a half-brother Noel Tata, with whom he was raised from Naval Tata’s second marriage with Simon Tata. Tata spent most of his childhood in India under the care of his parents after their parents’ divorce. In his post in Humans of Bombay, Ratan Tata recounted how they fell in love and almost got married in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, due to his grandmother’s ill health, he had to come to India. His parents were not comfortable with this due to the instability in India caused by the Indo-China war. This meant the end of their relationship.
Education and Career
Mr. Ratan Tata studied at Campion School, Mumbai till 8th grade, after which he attended the Cathcart and John Connon School in Mumbai, then the Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, and the Riverdale Country School in New York City, where he graduated from the year 1955. After graduating from high school, Tata enrolled at Cornell University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1959. Tata gifted Cornell $50 million in 2008 making him the largest international donor in the history of the university.
Given a managerial position in the Tata Group in 1970. Over 21 years, the Tata Group’s revenues grew over 40 times and profits over 50 times. When Ratan Tata took over the company sales were largely from commodity sales but later most of the sales came from brands.
Entry into Tata Group
The journey started when Mr. JRD Tata stepped down as Chairman of Tata Sons and Mr. Ratan Tata succeeded him in the year 1991. This news came as a surprise to the existing executives like Russi Mody (Tata Steel), Darbari Seth (Tata Tea, Tata Chemicals), Ajit Kerkar (Taj Hotels) and Nani Palkhivala (Director of several Tata companies). This news caused bitterness in the group and many disagreed with this decision.
The media branded Mr. Ratan Tata as the wrong choice. But Mr. Ratan Tata kept working with perseverance and dedication. During his tenure, he set the retirement age. As per the policy the retirement age was set at 70 and senior executives would retire at the age of 65. This led to the replacement of employees with young talent. This led to Modi being sacked, the succession issue being sorted out as Seth and Kerkar retired due to crossing age limits, and Palkhieva quitting due to illness.
Once the succession issue was sorted out, Ratan Tata started focusing on the important thing. He convinced the group companies to pay royalties to Tata Sons for the use of the brand name Tata and also made the individual companies report to the group office.
Under him, the group moved out of businesses like cement, textiles, and cosmetics and focused on others like software and also entered the telecom business, finance, and retail business. Throughout all this, Shri JRD Tata guided Ratan Tata as a mentor, although there were criticisms.
Ratan Tata Achievements
Despite facing criticism due to his relative inexperience, he embraced the constraints of the Tata Group and led it to become a global conglomerate with 65% of its revenue coming from abroad. Under his leadership, the group’s revenue grew 40 times and profits increased 50 times. To globalize the business, the Tata Group made several strategic acquisitions under Ratan Tata’s leadership.
These include the purchase of London-based Tetley Tea for $431.3 million, the acquisition of South Korea’s Daewoo Motors’ truck manufacturing unit for $102 million, and the takeover of Anglo-Dutch company Corus Group for $11.3 billion.
These acquisitions, including Tetley by Tata Tea, Jaguar Land Rover by Tata Motors, and Corus by Tata Steel, helped the Tata Group expand its global footprint to over 100 countries. This also gave a significant boost to the Indian industrial sector.
Philanthropic Contributions of Ratan Tata
Ratan Tata founded the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, thus realizing his father’s vision. About 60-65% of the profits earned by Ratan Tata were donated for charitable purposes. His notable philanthropic contributions include:
Ratan Tata’s Contribution to Education
Ratan Tata carried forward the legacy of Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group. The JN Tata Endowment for Higher Education provides scholarships to Indian students to pursue higher education. Tata Trusts are working towards addressing the challenges of the education sector, with a focus on providing quality education to children from marginalized communities. They aim to deliver high-quality learning experiences through critical thinking, problem-solving, collaborative learning, and the use of technology. Tata Trusts’ work in the field of education is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- The Tata Center for Technology and Design at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B), the Tata Center for Technology and Design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of Chicago
- Tata Center for Genetics and Society at the University of California San Diego, Harvard University South Asia Institute
- Indian Institute of Science (IISc) – Bangalore
- Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) – Mumbai, Tata Memorial Centre – Mumbai
- Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) – Mumbai
- National Institute of Advanced Study (NIAS) – Bangalore
- Tata Education and Development Trust in collaboration with Cornell University has launched a $28 million Tata Fundraising Campaign
Ratan Tata Trust
Founded in 1919 by Ratan Tata, the trust works for the well-being of underprivileged people in various fields. The trust offers two types of grants:
Institutional grants: These include endowment grants, program grants, and small grants.
Emergency grants: These grants are provided in times of emergency or crisis.
Apart from being the chairman of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Ratan Tata is also the head of the Sir Dorabji Tata and related trusts and owns a 66% stake in Tata Sons.
Contribution To The Medical Sector
Ratan Tata has played a key role in primary health care in India. He has supported initiatives to address maternal health, child health, mental health, and diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer, malaria, and tuberculosis.
He has also provided a grant of ₹750 million to the Centre for Neuroscience at the Indian Institute of Science for research on Alzheimer’s disease.
Ratan Tata has worked closely with governments, NGOs, and implementing partners to ensure proper maternal care, nutrition, water, sanitation, and infrastructural support.