About Ratan Tata
Ratan Naval Tata is an Indian industrialist, investor, philanthropist, and a former chairman of Tata Sons who serves as its chairman emeritus. He was also chairman of Tata Group, from 1990 to 2014, and again, as interim chairman, from October 2016 through February 2017, and continues to head its charitable trusts.
Connect with Ratan Tata's life
- Your companies, you have about 98 companies in your conglomerate, 395 thousand employees across the world, you’ve bought Tetley Tea, Corus Steel, Jaguar, Land Rover. How do you keep up with all this?
- Tell us about your early days especially your college days.
- What was your childhood like? Any mentors or special teachers that you remember.
- The fantastic Tata’s legacy is built on the core foundation of values. Were you exposed to the values of the Tata’s in your early life?
- Where do you get the strength and the stamina to deal with all these different entities that you have to make sure do well? People are looking at you and watching you.
- There was no need, there was no mandate, today we have CSR much abused as it is a phrase but what do you think went through the minds of the founders when they set this up and especially transferring their value in Tata Sons to the Trust?
- If you look at the Trust’s today they span a wide range of sectors and there’s a certain stress that you’ve laid on technology being a great intervention in some of the applications. Where do you believe the transformation of the Trust’s actually began and why?
- A lot of people talk about is the Tata culture. The Tata way of life, if you work for the Tata’s, on the one hand, it’s almost as we are working for a family on the other it’s almost as if you’re part of a legacy. How have successive leaders before you like JRD, have you managed to retain that Tata culture in times which are sadly materialistic competitive? How do you maintain that culture?
- Is it hard to be an honest businessman in India?
- Has it been tough to stick by your Tata values, especially during times when values were being trampled upon because of politics and competition? Were there times that you often felt that you were lucky to not take the shortcuts?
- In 1991 when you took over you were stepping into giant shoes of JRD shoes and then you brought the entire group together by working around brand Tata and royalty. What is the one thought that raced through your mind because you were the new torchbearer and the legacy holder off almost 130 hundred years existence of Tata’s?
- What is the one important thing that you hold on to of your mentor, JRD?
- You never wanted the arc lights on you. Were you always a shy person?
- Tell us about the trauma of 26/11 and how did you handle it.
- You have been recently investing in a lot of start-ups and supporting new entrepreneurs. What is you philosophy behind these investments?
- You’ve done so much- from flying planes to running conglomerates to sitting on international boards. What’s the one thing that continues to drive you to this team?
- You’ve seen of the Trust’s and the relationship that the Trust’s have with the people and with the holding company. Do you believe corporate India has really pulled in the area of philanthropy and involved itself in nation-building like in many other countries where individuals get involved with nation-building as well?
- Now that you’re at arm’s length from the operations of the TATA group, what excites you the most about the group and what worries you the most?
- The Tata group and you are looked upon as an inspirations of all the aspiring entrepeneurs as well as young people. What is the advice you would like to give them?
- At your age you still have multifarious hobbies from tinkering in driving cars to flying planes to reading to architecture, do you think this cross-functionality has shaped you?
- What has been your biggest achievement?
- Which were your most despaired moments?
- You are a man of extensive experience and associations. Whom do you admire?
- What were some of the experiences that have informed your approach to philanthropy?
- Do you have a philosophy of philanthropy?
- What changes have you made in the trusts’ operations, and what do you aspire for them to become?
- So the trusts have shifted emphasis from charity to projects with sustainable impact?
- Do you consider program costs when evaluating grants?
- What advice would you offer to other philanthropists who seek to blend charity with strategic philanthropy?
- Do you encourage your grantees to partner with government agencies?
- Is it difficult for you to find NGOs ready to take on strategic partnerships?
- Are you worried that much of the CSR money will not be used well?
- Are Indian companies prepared to implement the CSR mandate in a way that will make a difference?
- What do you want your legacy to be? How do you want to be remembered?
- Is there a pitfall to your international expansion?
- What were some of the experiences that have informed your approach to philanthropy?
- Do you have a philosophy of philanthropy?
- What changes have you made in the trusts’ operations, and what do you aspire for them to become?
- So the trusts have shifted emphasis from charity to projects with sustainable impact?
- What advice would you offer to other philanthropists who seek to blend charity with strategic philanthropy?
- Is it difficult for you to find NGOs ready to take on strategic partnerships?
- Are you worried that much of the CSR money will not be used well?
