OMTEX CLASSES THE HOME OF SUCCESS

INDEX
 INTRODUCTION
 EARLY LIFE
 WEALTH
 CAREER
 PERSONAL LIFE
 QUOTES
 SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RECORDS
 AWARDS AND RECONITION
 MAN OF THE YEAR? IT’S RATAN TATA
 CONCLUSION

OMTEX CLASSES THE HOME OF SUCCESS

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 labour-
intensive 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

OMTEX CLASSES THE HOME OF SUCCESS

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 high-
technology 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).

OMTEX CLASSES THE HOME OF SUCCESS

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.

OMTEX CLASSES THE HOME OF SUCCESS

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 Group’s 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 Tata’s offer to bail
out Union Carbide and facilitate investments by Carbide’s 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, survivor’s groups
felt that Tata’s offer was aimed at frustrating legal efforts to hold the
company liable, and motivated by a desire to facilitate Dow’s
investments in India.[11]

TATA supplies to Burma’s military regime: TATA Motors reported

deals to supply hardware and automobiles to Burma’s oppressive and
anti-democratic military junta has come in for criticism from human
rights and democracy activists. In December 2006, Gen. Thura Shwe
Mann, Myanmar’s 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 TATA’s 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
Tata’s subsequent embrace of and praise for Narendra Modi, Chief
Minister of Gujarat, also earned him brickbats on account of Modi’s
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 Tata’s
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 world’s
largest mass nesting sites for the olive ridley turtle and Bitharkanika is a
designated Ramsar site and India’s 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

OMTEX CLASSES THE HOME OF SUCCESS

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 yacht-
making 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

OMTEX CLASSES THE HOME OF SUCCESS