Ratan Tata Biography
– Photo: Amar Ujala
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After the death of former Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata, his half brother Noel Tata has been made the new chairman of Tata Group. However, Ratan Tata has no role in appointing Noel Tata as his successor. Now a book related to the life of Ratan Tata has come out. In which many secrets related to Ratan Tata’s life have been revealed.
According to the book ‘Ratan Tata A Life’, a biography of Ratan Tata written by Thomas Mathew, the late Ratan Tata felt that his half-brother Noel Tata needed more experience to succeed him. Let us tell you that Noel Tata was recently appointed as the Chairman of Tata Trust after the death of Ratan Tata. This trust indirectly controls the US$165 billion Tata Group.
The search for Ratan Tata’s successor was going on since 2011.
According to Ratan Tata’s biography, in March 2011, when several candidates were interviewed to find Ratan Tata’s successor, Noel Tata was also included in it. Not only this, Ratan Tata had decided to keep himself away from the selection committee formed to find the successor. According to the book, he later regretted this decision.
According to the book, Ratan stayed away from the Tata selection committee because there were many candidates from within the Tata group. He wanted to convey that, a collective body would recommend one of them based on a unanimous decision. Another reason for staying away from the selection committee was also personal. He did not want his half-brother Noel Tata to be seen as the natural candidate to succeed him.
‘For Ratan Tata, only the talent and values of the person mattered’
Noel Tata was considered ‘one of our own’ amid pressure from Parsis and community traditionalists in the company. According to the book, however, for Ratan Tata, only a person’s talent and values mattered. According to the author, Ratan Tata did not want Noel to be seen as his opponent if he was not elected. According to the book, Ratan Tata believed that, to successfully compete for the top job, Noel should have had more experience than he had.
Even if he had a son, Ratan Tata would not have declared him his direct successor.
It is also told in the book that Ratan Tata had said that even if he had a son, he would have done something so that he would not be able to become his successor on his own. The book ‘Ratan Tata A Life’ has been written by Thomas Mathew. It is published by HarperCollins Publishers.