On Wednesday, Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata Group who, through a series of high-profile acquisitions, elevated a sluggish and sprawling Indian conglomerate to the global stage, passed away. He was 86.
Ratan Tata was born in Bombay on December 28, 1937. He was adopted by his grandmother, Navajbai Tata, through the JN Petit Parsi Orphanage when his parents split up when he was 10 years old. He went to Campion School in Mumbai, Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai, Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, Riverdale Country School in New York City, Cornell University, and Harvard Business School for his education.
Ratan Tata took over for his uncle JRD Tata as chair of Tata Sons in 1991. He implemented extensive reforms, including imposing a retirement age and ensuring direct reporting to the group office, despite opposition from veteran company leaders. He organized Tata’s numerous businesses into a single, focused conglomerate.
Tata Group experienced remarkable expansion during his 21 years as CEO. Profits more than doubled and revenue more than quadrupled. He oversaw a number of notable acquisitions, including Tata Steel’s acquisition of Corus, Tata Motors’ acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover, and Tata Tea’s acquisition of Tetley. Also in his head was the Tata Nano, a car that would be affordable to the majority of Indians.
Cyrus Mistry succeeded Ratan Tata as chairperson on December 28, 2012, when he turned 75. However, after Mistry’s removal by the board in 2016, Tata was again appointed interim chairman following a dispute that was widely reported.
According to close family members, Tata passed away after a long illness in a Mumbai hospital’s intensive care unit.
