Vikrant Shekhawat : Oct 28, 2024, 11:40 AM
Ratan Tata News: The late Ratan Tata, who headed Tata Sons for a long time, had seriously considered the matter of making his half-brother Noel Tata his successor. A recently released biography, "Ratan Tata: A Life", sheds light on this subject, trying to understand Ratan Tata's thinking and his succession process. Noel Tata has recently been appointed as the chairman of Tata Trusts after the death of Ratan Tata, which indirectly controls the US$165 billion Tata Group.Search for successorIn 2011, when Ratan Tata was looking for his successor, Noel Tata was also involved in the process. Ratan Tata decided to distance himself from the selection committee, to ensure that any decision is taken collectively and unanimously. His biography mentions this decision, saying that Ratan Tata later regretted this decision, indicating how important the succession process was to him.Ratan Tata's visionThe book reveals that Ratan Tata distanced himself from the selection committee in this process due to personal reasons. The Tata Group had many family and community candidates, and Ratan Tata did not want anyone to be particularly attracted to him. Noel Tata was considered a natural candidate in the community, but for Ratan Tata, only talent and values mattered.Ratan Tata was clear in his thinking that his half-brother needed more experience for the top post. He said that if he had a son, he would also do something so that he would not be considered an automatic successor. It shows his foresight that he did not want to hand over the responsibility to anyone based only on family ties.Facing challengesThe book also reveals that Ratan Tata faced pressure from the traditionalists of the Parsis and the community. Ratan Tata's thinking is a testimony to the fact that he did not want to affect his half-brother's image in case he did not choose him. He believed that a person should be judged only on the basis of his qualities and abilities and not on the basis of family ties.ConclusionThe story of Ratan Tata and Noel Tata not only represents the complexities of a family but it also highlights the challenges of succession in the business world. Ratan Tata's vision and decision-making process shows how important individual talent and experience are to succeed in the business world. This story also teaches us that decision-making can sometimes be very challenging, keeping in mind the family ties.