Ratan Tata – the man who took the Tata groups to new heights by establishing them as a multinational conglomerate. Moving from their conventional business approach to building the $100 Million company that it is now, Ratan Tata has managed to take the Tata groups to a well celebrated global level.
“Take the stones that people throw at you, and use them to build a monument.”
– Ratan Tata
Moving on with our series of the ‘Tech Entrepreneurial Genius’, our next man is the legendary industrialist – Ratan Tata. This visionary genius is not only famous for his successful industrial ventures but also for his wisdom and philanthropic deeds.
Early Life
Ratan Tata was born on 28th of December, 1937. He is the grandson of the founder of Tata, the great Jamsetji Tata. Being the scion of the Tata family, Ratan Tata has always had the best of education nationally and internationally.
But as they say, money can’t always buy you happiness, the young Ratan had a troubled childhood. At an early age of just 7, his parents separated which had a bad effect on him. He then used to live with his grandmother.
He graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Architecture and then took an advanced management course from the Harvard Business School. He was offered a job from IBM which he turned down to join his family business.
Career
Ratan Tata joined the family business in 1961, working for the Tata Steel.
None can destroy iron, but its own rust can! Likewise none can destroy a person, but its own mindset can!
– Ratan Tata
With time, Ratan flourished at the business and soon got promoted. 3 decades after his arrival, he was named as the successor of J.R.D Tata by the man himself in 1991.
As the Leader
The Tata Groups witnessed many changes with the arrival of their new leader. Even though there was a big number of senior businessmen in the company that opposed Ratan’s position, it didn’t stop the newly appointed head to make some stiff and major decisions.
None can destroy iron, but its own rust can! Likewise, none can destroy a person, but its own mindset can!
– Ratan Tata
Now, the young minds and innovative brains were given opportunities and proper equipment to showcase their talents. The management was especially taken care of making sure that each sector is being looked upon properly.
In his tenure of 21 years as the Chairman, the revenues grew over 40 times and profits over 50 times. He boldly made moves which made the Tata name felt in the global market. Some of these strong moves include –
- Tata Tea acquiring Tetley, the largest UK tea producing company.
- Tata Motors bought Jaguar Land Rover.
- and Tata Steel obtained Corus.
This helped Tata Groups to get a revenue of over 65% globally and sales at over 100 countries. Ratan Tata resigned from his position as the chairman in 2012, after turning 75 years old.
Honors
The legendary business magnet, Ratan Tata received
- The Padma Bhushan in 2000, the third highest civilian honor.
- and Padma Vibhushan in 2008, the second highest civilian honor awarded by the Government of India.
He is also the recipient of numerous global awards including
- The Commander of the Legion of Honour in 2016 from the French Government.
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese Government in 2012.
Philanthropy
If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together
– Ratan Tata
Ratan Tata believes in giving back what the people gave him. He has donated more than 60-70% of his wealth for the welfare of the society including the health and education sector.
Source: Techstory
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