Ratan Naval Tata, one of the most revered Indian businessman and philanthropist has passed away at the age of 86 years. This news has indeed come as a shock for many people across the world. Known not just for his business acumen but also for his compassion and ethical leadership. In a world where business is largely about profit, Ratan Tata was a man of different class. He led Tata Group with ethical leadership, people’s first and nation first approach.
Ratan Tata-An Inspiring Businessman
Born on December 28, 1937 in Mumbai, Ratan Tata was the son of Naval Tata who was adopted by Ratanji Tata, son of Jamshedji Tata. He joined Tata group in 1962 after completing his education from the Cornell university and Harvard Business School. His entry was also a humble one where he worked alongside blue collared workers in Tata Steel. He became the chairman of the Tata Sons in 1991 and the rest is history.
Under his visionary leadership, the group expanded from $5 Billion to over $100 Billion by the time he retired in 2012. He made the group a global powerhouse with operations in over 100 countries and presence across industries ranging from salt to steel. However, this journey was not a smooth ride.
When Ford Humiliated Tata…
In 1998, Tata launched their first car, ‘Indica,’ however, due to low sales they decided to sell their car business, within a year of its debut. In an attempt to sell their failing car business, Ratan Tata had gone to US to meet Bill Ford, the then chairman of Ford. Reportedly, Bill Ford had humiliated him during this meeting. He said, “You do not know anything, why did you start the passenger car division at all. We are doing you a big favour by buying your car division.”
Post this meeting, Ratan Tata had changed his mind and decided not to sell his car business. He turned all his focus on Tata Motors and just 9 years after the Ford incident (2008), Tata Motors became the best selling cars in the market.
Interestingly, the wheels of time turned in such a manner, that in 2008, Ford was struggling to make profit. Bill Ford flew to India to meet Ratan Tata, who was earlier ‘humiliated’ by him. Even though Ratan Tata had the option of humiliating him. He choose a different path by offering to buy Ford’s worst selling car series- Jaguar and Land Rover. Ratan Tata bought them in an all cash deal of $2.3 billion. The rest is history for JLR made a turn around and became the mainstay of the Tata Motors.
Ratan Tata’s response when he was humiliated by Ford 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/y51ywPlnfW
— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) October 31, 2022
Chose His ill Dog Over ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’…
Among his many inspiring instances, there is one heartwarming tale that stands out. It is when Ratan Tata ditched an invite from the British Royal family. In 2018, King Charles III of the United Kingdom wanted to give lifetime achievement award to Ratan Tata for his philanthropic work. On February 6, 2018, Buckingham Palace was all set to welcome Tata. However, at the last minute Ratan Tata decided to postpose his trip to England citing personal reasons. The reason was his ill pet dog. When King Charles came to know this he was not surprised. He said, “That’s a man. That’s the man Ratan is. That’s why the house of Tata is what it is. That’s why it’s on stable course.”
‘India And Indians First’
Ratan Tata had a public centric approach in business. No project can be a better example of his commitment towards India and Indians than his Tata Nano Project. Launched in 2008, he created the world’s cheapest car, to provide affordable mobility to the middle class. Despite the criticism he prioritized ethics over profits. Furthermore, the sentiment behind the project is a testament of his people first approach.
Ratan Tata demonstrated his commitment to building a prosperous India by leveraging international acquisitions to enhance the country’s global image. Under his leadership Tata acquired Tetley Tea, Corus, Jaguar Land Rover etc. and emerged as a global powerhouse.
His legacy is that of visionary leadership and of compassion. During the Mumbai terrorist attack of 2008, Ratan Tata led with compassion. He handled the situation with sensitivity towards the employees and the victims. Within no time he again rebuilt Taj Hotel and made it stronger than ever.
Lastly, when asked how he would like others to remember him. Ratan Tata replied, “I would like to be remembered as a person who made a difference, not anything more not anything less.”