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There’s hardly any name in the Indian business history as prominent as of Ratan Tata. He is an investor, philanthropist and chairman emeritus of Tata Sons. The man was in charge of the Tata group from 1991 – 2012 before appointing Cyrus Mistry as the next Chairman of the group. He is the only Indian after 1950 to get GBE (Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II). He is also being conferred two of the highest civilian awards of India- Padma Vibhushan (2008) and Padma Bhushan (2000).
Apart from leading Tata Group he recently invested his personal savings in Snapdeal and also made an undisclosed funding in Teabox and Cashkaro.com. In addition to these big investments, he has also done small investments in other companies such as Ola Cabs, Paytm, Bluestone, and CarDekho. His stature can only be assessed by the fact that he is called by the media “Bhishma Pitamah of Indian Business World”. There’s hardly any doubt over the fact that this man has not only taken his business to new heights, but also made India proud at the world level. Mr. Tata is a simple man and is known for treating all his employees with great respect. He is often regarded as a visionary man and is perhaps the “King of Acquisitions” in the Indian Business World.
His story of acquiring Jaguar Land Rover is the most famous and interesting of his career. When in 1999, Ratan Tata and his team went to sell the group’s fledgling car business to Ford. They were mistreated by the Ford people who questioned their business and asked them ‘you do not know anything, why did you start the passenger car division at all’. They also said that they (Ford) will do a big favour on Tata by buying out their car division at a meeting held with Ford officials in Detroit. This crisis situation in Tata arose due to the fact that much-anticipated car “Tata Indica” failed to take off in the Indian automotive market. There was a poor response to its maiden hatchback which prompted Tata Motors to sell off the car business, within a year of its debut in 1998 to the Ford Motors. After the meeting with Ford Officials, Tata while returning back to India decided that he will not sell the division to Ford.
And then, 9 years later in 2008 after that humiliation, the clock turned a full circle and the salt-to-software conglomerate humbled the mighty Ford, which was on the bankruptcy after the 2008 global financial meltdown- by taking over the iconic Jaguar Land Rover brand for $2.3 bn. At that time Ford was raising money to ensure its own survival and sold the brands for several billion dollars less than it had paid to acquire those years earlier. Way back in 1999, when Ford humiliated Tata, the mistake was realized by the Ford Chairman Bill Ford who thanked Tata by saying that they had done a big favour on us (Ford) by buying Jaguar Land Rover.
And within a couple of years of the buyout, the Jaguar Land Rover made a dramatic turnaround and is now the mainstay of Tata Motors finances, aside from its traditionally successful automobile business. As a matter of fact in 2003, JLR sold just 431 cars in China, whereas in 2011 it sold an astonishing 51,000 vehicles up by 76%. Jaguar Land Rover has roped in great profits for Tata Motors since then and is today one of most successful subsidiaries of the Tata Group.
RATAN TATA, the most disciplined and humble businessman proved his stature, THUG LIFE!!
