Ratan Tata: Visionary leader who transformed Tata Group into global powerhouse

Ratan Tata, the former Tata Group chairman who put a staid and sprawling Indian conglomerate on the global stage with a string of high-profile acquisitions, died on Wednesday. He was 86.

Ratan Tata was born on December 28, 1937, in Bombay. After his parents separated when he was 10, he was adopted by his grandmother, Navajbai Tata, through the JN Petit Parsi Orphanage. His education took him to prestigious institutions, including Campion School, Mumbai, Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai, Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, Riverdale Country School in New York City, Cornell University, and Harvard Business School.

In 1991, Ratan Tata succeeded his uncle JRD Tata as chairperson of Tata Sons. Despite resistance from veteran company heads, he implemented sweeping reforms, including enforcing a retirement age and ensuring direct reporting to the group office. He streamlined Tata's sprawling businesses, creating a unified and focused conglomerate.

Under his 21-year leadership, Tata Group saw extraordinary growth. Revenues surged more than 40 times, and profits increased over 50 times. He led several high-profile acquisitions, including Tata Tea's purchase of Tetley, Tata Motors' acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover, and Tata Steel's takeover of Corus. He also envisioned the Tata Nano, a car designed to be affordable for the Indian masses.

Ratan Tata stepped down as chairperson on December 28, 2012, upon turning 75, with Cyrus Mistry succeeding him. However, in 2016, after a highly publicised dispute, Tata was made interim chairman again following Mistry's removal by the board.

Tata, who had been in intensive care at a Mumbai hospital, passed away following a long illness, according to sources close to the family.

After earning a degree in architecture from Cornell, Tata returned to India in 1962 to work for the group his great-grandfather had founded. Over the years, he made his mark across several Tata companies, including Tata Motors and Tata Steel, reviving underperforming units and expanding market share.

In 1991, when he took over the group, India was opening its economy to global markets. Tata spearheaded efforts to modernise the conglomerate, promoting younger executives, enforcing retirement ages, and introducing stricter oversight of group companies.

He founded Tata Teleservices in 1996 and took Tata Consultancy Services public in 2004. But it was the quest for international expansion that truly defined his leadership. In 2000, Tata acquired British tea company Tetley for $432 million. This was followed by the acquisition of steelmaker Corus for $13 billion in 2007 and Jaguar Land Rover from Ford for $2.3 billion in 2008.

His innovative vision was also reflected in the Tata Indica, the first car designed and manufactured in India, and the Tata Nano, envisioned as the world’s most affordable car. While the Indica found commercial success, the Nano struggled due to safety issues and poor marketing, leading to its discontinuation a decade later.

A private individual, Tata was a licensed pilot and maintained a modest lifestyle. He never married and was known for his philanthropic work, with two-thirds of Tata Sons’ share capital held by charitable trusts.

Though his leadership was widely celebrated, it was not without controversy. In 2016, after Cyrus Mistry was ousted as chairperson, a public feud ensued. Mistry accused Tata of interference, while Tata Group defended the decision, citing Mistry’s inability to turn around struggling businesses.

Even after stepping back from Tata Group, Ratan Tata remained a prominent figure in India's startup scene, investing in ventures such as Paytm, Ola Electric, and Urban Company.

In recognition of his contributions to industry and trade, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, in 2008.