The Leaders’ Leader

We were about to launch our fourth magazine, Techno­crat. David Davidar, the executive editor of one of our group magazines, Gentleman, suggested we put Ratan Tata on the cover of the inaugural issue of the new magazine.

Good idea, we said. Tata agreed to the interview and we were all set. Then fate intervened. I had to suddenly fly to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The PMO said Rajiv had agreed to our request for a meeting.

Along with our Delhi Bureau Chief Major Atul Dev (re­tired) I arrived at the prime minister’s 7 Race Course Road resi­dence the next morning. We discussed a biography I wanted to write on Rajiv. He agreed immediately and graciously.

We spoke for a while. He invited me to join him on a heli­copter ride to the Guna constituency in Madhya Pradesh. Rajiv’s secretary Mani Shankar Aiyar was asked to fix the logistics.

Meanwhile, calls started coming in from our editorial office in Bombay (it wasn’t yet Mumbai). Ratan Tata’s of­fice had called and reserved the next afternoon for our interview at his Bombay House office for the inaugu­ral issue of Technocrat.

I was in a fix. Stuck in Delhi, wait­ing for the chopper ride to Guna with Rajiv, I urged Mani to speed things up. I needed to be back in Bombay.

My father-in-law Vice Admiral Ramesh Vinayakrao Arte was com­mandant of the National Defence College (NDC). I stayed at his Akbar Road bungalow that night.

No news of the Guna chopper till morning. I had to make a choice: Rajiv or Ratan?

It wasn’t easy. Ratan’s office was getting annoyed. A can­celled interview for Technocrat loomed. Rajiv made it easier. He said I could schedule his interview for the biography on my next visit to Delhi when he would also give me access to his entire Cabinet.

I took the first flight back to Bombay and managed to reach Ratan Tata’s office in time for the interview.

He was disarmingly polite. “So you made it, young man. Good.”

I was later told by his secretary: “Mr Tata was a little upset that your editorial office had sought a postponement of the interview because you were held up in Delhi with the prime minister. Mr Tata does not like postponing meetings.”

That in a sentence captures the man and his method. Punc­tilious and honourable, Tata expected others to keep their word. He always kept his. I was glad I kept mine.

The interview with Ratan went off well. He appeared on the cover of the inaugural issue of Technocrat, speaking eloquently about the new tech age that was dawning and the Tatas’ plans to expand into new areas. It was all very pre­scient given how the Tata Group has transformed itself into a diversified conglomerate with a strong accent on technology-led sectors, from semicon­ductors to electric vehicles (EVs).

Noel shares Ratan’s reticence. During our meetings at his home and mine, he spoke of his vision to retain the Tata Group’s values and yet move with the times

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An architect by training with a de­gree from Cornell University, Ratan returned to India and went through the grind, first at Tata Industries, then at loss-making NELCO and fi­nally, in 1991, following patriarch JRD Tata’s death, as chairman of Tata Sons.

At the time, Tata was a traditional Indian business house. It made salt, did basic software at Tata Consultan­cy Services (TCS), had a lumbering automotive business in Tata Motors, and a legacy business in Tata Steel. Its Jamshedpur “corporate city” was an exemplar of good civic governance.

On becoming group chairman, Ratan quickly changed gears. By the early 2000s, foreign acquisitions powered the group’s growth—first with Britain’s Tetley and then in 2007 the Corus steel business in Europe and the big-bang acquisi­tion of Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) in 2008.

But it was TCS that became the Tata Group’s cash machine. Today it is by far the Tatas’ most profitable company, allow­ing the group to expand into semiconductors, defence, space and microelectronics.

When Ratan took charge of Tata Sons in 1991, the Tata Group’s turnover was $4 billion. Today it is $165 billion, a 41-fold increase in 33 years.

One of Ratan’s enduring legacies is the strong leadership he has left behind. Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran is one of several leaders who are continuing to transform Tatas into a global conglomerate while embracing the ethical values of the group. Tatas’ philanthropy in education and healthcare is another core value that the group’s new leadership has retained and expanded.

Like his uncle JRD Tata, Ratan was an avid pilot. He flew an F-16 fighter jet at the Bangalore Aero Show and was keen on bringing Air India back into the Tata fold. Founded by JRD, the airline had been nationalised in 1953.

What then of the post-Ratan future for the Tata Group? Who will be the next chairman of Tata Trusts which owns the Tata Group?

The frontrunner is 67-year-old Noel Tata. Noel is a low-key high performer. He has turned the group’s retail venture Trent into one of India’s most extraordinary success stories.

Noel is Ratan’s half-brother. They share a father, Naval Tata. Noel’s mother is French-born Simone Tata who launched Lakm é and pioneered the beauty business in India.

Noel is already on the boards of several Tata companies, including Tata Steel and Titan. Soft-spoken and an introvert, he can be uncharacteristically combative when necessary. His performance at Trent has made him a natural successor to his half-brother.

Noel shares Ratan’s reticence. During our meetings at his home and mine, he spoke of his vision to retain the Tata Group’s values and yet move with the times. His three children Neville, Leah and Maya are all involved in various Tata Group companies. The Rajiv-Ratan snafu ended hap­pily. After completing my interview with Ratan for Technocrat, I flew back to Delhi. Rajiv kept his promise and allowed me access to his Cabinet. Madhavrao Scindia was the most charming, Arun Nehru the most obstreperous.

Ratan, who in a storied life, dealt with all kinds, would have smiled knowingly.

About The Author

Minhaz Merchant

Minhaz Merchant is an author, editor and publisher

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