Everyone has heard the Tata name: it is one of the biggest groups of companies in India and worldwide. So let’s talk about the former Chairperson of the Tata Group and Tata Sons: Ratan Tata.

At the age of 83, his net worth, according to some sources, is estimated to be ₹3500 crores, as of October 2021. He is the great-grandson of the big industrialist Jamshedji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group. Ratan Tata started working for the Tata group in 1962, working at a blue-collar job and after working for a few years in the company, he transitioned to the managerial side and became the Chairperson of the Tata Group at the age of 44.

Chairperson of the Tata Group:

When Tata took over, India became a global capital market which widely increased the competition and it made it especially hard for the company as it was used to operating in a protected economy. His predecessor, J.R.D. Tata decentralized a huge portion of Tata which made it hard for him to deal with the competition but he took the problem head-on and solved it by:

• Making some tough and expensive choices of taking back ownership of various Tata companies like Tata Steel, Tata Motors and many other subsidiaries and then grouping them into 7 sectors which made it easier for him to control.
• Acquiring foreign competitors and absorbing them into the Tata Group and effectively buying all their talent, supply chains and experience to strengthen the enterprise, as structuring the Tata Group was not enough to beat international companies.
• Building the company globally by purchasing companies like Tetley Tea from Britain and many other companies globally along the course of the decade.
• Purchasing companies like the European steel titan Corus for $12 billion in 2007 and the purchase of Landrover and Jaguar for $2 billion in the year 2008. These purchases really put the Tata group on the map.

Ratan Tata’s business tips:

• Invest in intuition: As Ratan Tata himself puts it, “I found in my case that company selection was more by intuition rather than numbers and by judging on the intent of the founders and their seriousness more than any other factor”. He strongly believed that believing in the investment or the business is essential for the investors as only then, they would be able to help improve it.
• Transition is important: The economic world is constantly changing and that is very important because with the change in time there is a change of need, so accepting the change and being able to cope with is very important. Ratan Tata once said, "I am glad the startup space is growing and becoming so prominent. Now, more and more big companies will recognize that there is another way to do something and that something might be the better way to do cheaper and most cost-effective way".
• Take calculated risks: It is hard to take risks as there is a chance of failure but for companies or investments to grow, taking risks is very important and what is even more important is to take calculated risks. Taking risks at the wrong time can cause companies to go into losses or even shut down so one must only make risky decisions after a lot of thinking and calculation.

Ideology:

Ratan Tata is a futuristic leader who looks ahead with a powerful vision. After retirement, he started investing in startups as he believes strongly in the startup space that it is going to impact the future in a huge way.

Tata is a supporter of education, medicine and rural development, Tata Education and Development Trust, a philanthropic affiliate of Tata Group which had made many donations to different educational institutions such as endowing a $28 million Tata Scholarship Fund that will allow Cornell University to provide financial aid to undergraduate students from India.

Tata once said, “ If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together.” He wants to help to make the world a better place to live in and believes that humans should be there for each other. He constantly donates large amounts to various charities to help in improving quality of life for all. Today, Ratan Tata stands as a true inspiration to enterprising individuals and a person that stands tall, both in philanthropy and in business.