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Ratan Tata, in full Ratan Naval Tata, (born December 28, 1937, Bombay [now Mumbai], India), An Indian industrialist, philanthropist, and a former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also chairman of Tata Group, from 1990 to 2012, and again, as interim chairman, from October 2016 through February 2017, and continues to head its charitable trusts.
A member of a prominent family of Indian industrialists and philanthropists (see Tata family), he was educated at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, where he earned a B.S. (1962) in architecture before returning to work in India. He gained experience in a number of Tata Group businesses and was named director in charge (1971) of one of them, the National Radio and Electronics Co. He became chairman of Tata Industries a decade later and in 1991 succeeded his uncle, J.R.D. Tata, as chairman of the Tata Group.
Upon assuming leadership of the conglomerate, Tata aggressively sought to expand it, and increasingly he focused on globalizing its businesses.
- In 2000 the group acquired London-based Tetley Tea for $431.3 million, and
- In 2004 it purchased the truck-manufacturing operations of South Korea’s Daewoo Motors for $102 million.
- In 2007 Tata Steel completed the biggest corporate takeover by an Indian company when it acquired the giant Anglo-Dutch steel manufacturer Corus Group for $11.3 billion.
- In 2008 Tata oversaw Tata Motors’ purchase of the elite British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover from the Ford Motor Company. The $2.3 billion deal marked the largest-ever acquisition by an Indian automotive firm.
The following year the company launched the Tata Nano, a tiny rear-engined, pod-shaped vehicle with a starting price of approximately 100,000 Indian rupees, or about $2,000. Although only slightly more than 10 feet (3 metres) long and about 5 feet (1.5 metres) wide, the highly touted “People’s Car” could seat up to five adults and, in Tata’s words, would provide a “safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport” to millions of middle- and lower-income consumers both in India and abroad. In December 2012 Tata retired as chairman of the Tata Group.
He briefly served as interim chairman beginning in October 2016 following the ouster of his successor, Cyrus Mistry. Tata returned to retirement in January 2017 when Natarajan Chandrasekaran was appointed chairman of the Tata Group.
Among many other honours accorded him during his career, Tata received the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s most distinguished civilian awards, in 2000.
Ratan Tata Awards
Ratan Tata was awarded many notable awards and honors. These are mentioned below:
| Year | Name | Awarding Organization |
| 2000 | Padma Bhushan | Government of India |
| 2008 | Padma Vibhushan | Government of India |
| 2001 | Honorary Doctor of Business Administration | Ohio State University |
| 2004 | Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay | Government of Uruguay |
| 2004 | Honorary Doctor of Technology | Asian Institute of Technology. |
| 2005 | International Distinguished Achievement Award | B’nai B’rith International |
| 2005 | Honorary Doctor of Science | University of Warwick. |
| 2006 | Honorary Doctor of Science | Indian Institute of Technology Madras |
| 2006 | Responsible Capitalism Award | For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) |
| 2007 | Honorary Fellowship | The London School of Economics and Political Science |
| 2007 | Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |
| 2008 | Honorary Doctor of Law | University of Cambridge |
| 2008 | Honorary Doctor of Science | Indian Institute of Technology Bombay |
| 2008 | Honorary Doctor of Science | Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur |
| 2008 | Honorary Citizen Award | Government of Singapore |
| 2008 | Honorary Fellowship | The Institution of Engineering and Technology |
| 2008 | Inspired Leadership Award | The Performance Theatre |
| 2009 | Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) | Queen Elizabeth II |
| 2009 | Life Time Contribution Award in Engineering for 2008 | Indian National Academy of Engineering |
| 2009 | Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic | Government of Italy |
| 2010 | Honorary Doctor of Law | University of Cambridge |
| 2010 | Hadrian Award | World Monuments Fund |
| 2010 | Oslo Business for Peace award | Business for Peace Foundation |
| 2010 | Legend in Leadership Award | Yale University |
| 2010 | Honorary Doctor of Laws | Pepperdine University |
| 2010 | Business for Peace Award | Business for Peace Foundation |
| 2010 | Business Leader of the Year | The Asian Awards. |
| 2012 | Honorary Fellow | The Royal Academy of Engineering |
| 2012 | Doctor of Business honoris causa | University of New South Wales |
| 2012 | Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun | Government of Japan |
| 2013 | Foreign Associate | National Academy of Engineering |
| 2013 | Transformational Leader of the Decade | Indian Affairs India Leadership Conclave 2013 |
| 2013 | Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year – Lifetime Achievement | Ernst & Young |
| 2013 | Honorary Doctor of Business Practice | Carnegie Mellon University |
| 2014 | Honorary Doctor of Business | Singapore Management University |
| 2014 | Sayaji Ratna Award | Baroda Management Association |
| 2014 | Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) | Queen Elizabeth II |
| 2014 | Honorary Doctor of Laws | York University, Canada |
| 2015 | Honorary Doctor of Automotive Engineering | Clemson University |
| 2015 | Sayaji Ratna Award | Baroda Management Association, Honoris Causa, HEC Paris |
| 2016 | Commander of the Legion of Honour | Government of France |
| 2018 | Honorary Doctorate | Swansea University |
| 2021 | Assam Baibhav | Government of Assam |
Ratan Tata Family Tree
- Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata- Founder of Tata Group, India’s biggest conglomerate company. He was married to Hirabai Daboo.
- Dorabji Tata- The elder son of Jamshedji Tata and second chairperson of Tata Group. His wife was Meherbai Tata, paternal aunt of renowned nuclear scientist Homi J. Bhabha.
- Ratanji Tata- Younger son of Jamshedji Tata. He was the pioneer of poverty studies. He was married to Navajbai Tata. His wife adopted an orphan, Naval, who was the grand-nephew of Hirabai Tata and raised him as her own son.
- Naval Tata- Adopted son of Navajbai Tata. His biological father was Hormusji Tata. His maternal grandmother was the sister of Hirabai Tata. Director in several Tata companies, ILO member, and recipient of Padma Bhushan, Naval Tata had three sons– Ratan Tata (5th chairperson of Tata Group), Jimmy Tata, and Noel Tata (Chairperson of Trent Limited)– from two marriages.
- Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata- He was one of the early stalwarts who served the Tata Group. His father Dadabhoy and mother of Jamshedji Tata, Jeevanbai, were siblings. He married Suzanne Brière and the couple gave birth to five children, including J.R.D. Tata and Sylla Tata.
- J.R.D. Tata- He served as the fourth Chairperson of Tata Group. He is the founder of Tata Airlines (later Air India) , which recently again acquired by tata groups.
- Sylla Tata- Elder sister of J.R.D. Tata was married to the founder of the first textile mill in India, Dinshaw Maneckji Petit. Her sister-in-law Rattanbai Petit, was married to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah’s only child, Dina Jinnah, was married to Neville Ness Wadia.
Ratan Tata Quotes
“I don’t believe in taking the right decisions. I take decisions and then make them right.”
“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together.”
“I’ve often felt that the Indian Tiger has not been unleashed.”
“People still believe what they read is necessarily the truth.”
“If it stands the test of public scrutiny, do it… If it doesn’t stand the test of public scrutiny then don’t do it.”
“Power and wealth are not two of my main stakes.”
“I have been constantly telling people to encourage people, to question the unquestioned and not to be ashamed to bring up new ideas, new processes to get things done.”
“None can destroy iron, but its own rust can! Likewise none can destroy a person, but its own mindset can!”
“Business need to go beyond the interest of their companies to the communities they serve.”
“Ups and downs in life are very important to keep us going, because a straight line even in an ECG means we are not alive.”
“Apart from values and ethics which I have tried to live by, the legacy I would like to leave behind is a very simple one – that I have always stood up for what I consider to be the right thing, and I have tried to be as fair and equitable as I could be.”
“I admire people who are very successful. But if that success has been achieved through too much ruthlessness, then I may admire that person, but I can’t respect him.”
“There are many things that, if I have to relive, maybe I will do it another way. But I would not like to look back and think what I have not been able to.”
“Don’t be serious, enjoy life as it comes.”
“I have always been very confident and very upbeat about the future potential of India. I think it is a great country with great potential.”
“One hundred years from now, I expect the Tatas to be much bigger than it is now. More importantly, I hope the Group comes to be regarded as being the best in India.. best in the manner in which we operate, best in the products we deliver, and best in our value systems and ethics. Having said that, I hope that a hundred years from now we will spread our wings far beyond India.”
“Take the stones people throw at you, and use them to build a monument”
“I followed someone who had very large shoes. He had very large shoes. Mr. J. R. D. Tata. He was a legend in the Indian business community. He had been at the helm of the Tata organization for 50 years. You were almost starting to think he was going to be there forever.”
“Young entrepreneurs will make a difference in the Indian ecosystem.”
“I would say that one of the things I wish I could do differently would be to be more outgoing.”
“The strong live and the weak die. There is some bloodshed, and out of it emerges a much leaner industry, which tends to survive.”
“At Tatas, we believe that if we are not among the top three in an industry, we should look seriously at what it would take to become one of the top three players.. or think about exiting the industry”
Quick View at Ratan tata Life
| Birth | 28 December 1937 |
| Age | 84 years |
| Education | Cornell UniversityHarvard Business School |
| Family | Naval Tata (Father)Sooni Commissariat (Mother) |
| Occupation | Former Chairperson of Tata Sons and Tata GroupPhilanthropistInvestor |
| Title | Chairman Emeritus, Tata Sons and Tata Group |
| Predecessor | JRD Tata |
| Successor | Cyrus Mistry (2012)Natarajan Chandrasekaran (2017–present) |
| Awards | Padma Vibhushan (2008)Padma Bhushan (2000) |
| Net Worth | Rs. 6000 crores |
| Quotes | “I don’t believe in taking the right decisions. I take decisions and then make them right.” “Power and wealth are not two of my main stakes.” |
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