Express Tata Revised - Zoroastrians.netBy Morgen Witzel W hen Ratan Tata steps down as leader of the Tata Group, it will be a landmark moment in the group’s history. For more than

TheIndianEXPRESSeBOOK

TATA RATANHIS LEGACY

3INDIA'S RATAN

4BUILT TO LAST: BRAND TATA

5LIFE STORY

7TRIBUTE

10TRIUMPH OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

12CARS, COFFEE & CHARISMA

16TATA'S CHOICE PRESERVES PARSI TRADITION

18350 YEARS OF HISTORY

19FAREWEEL TWEET

COVER PHOTO : Suzanne Plunkett/Bloomberg News

Copyright © 2012The Indian Express

2TheIndianEXPRESSeBOOK

Contents

Ratan Naval Tata has stepped down as chair-man of Tata Sons and while the entire teamat the $100 billion Tata conglomerate willsurely feel his absence, the average Indian too willhave reason to miss him. The country probablynever needed Tata more than it does today; as TheEconomist wrote recently, ‘by standing out againstgraft so publicly and consistently, Mr Tata wasahead of his time’.

Not that the business suffered because of it; thediversified conglomerate that he has headed formore than two decades now has grown 20% annu-ally since FY92 and at an even more impressive 30%in the last six years to March, 2012, a feat that nottoo many other business groups have been able tomatch. With a bit of luck, it may have done betterbut the fact remains that Tata chose to keep his dis-tance from the political class and fortunately, forhim, there weren’t too many occasions on which heneeded to engage with it. On the few times thatthere was a skirmish, he took tough decisions asduring the critical agitation over land in SingurWest Bengal when the plant was re-located toSanand in Gujarat. But more moving out, the Tatashad offered to buy 400 acres and gift it to the affect-ed farmers in return for the land Tata Motors hadused to set up its car plant. It was a fine gesture andthe kind of generosity that sets the Tatas apart fromthe country’s other large industrial groups.

Tata’s biggest contribution to India thoughwould have to be the confidence that he instilledin India’s engineers backed by his own convictionthat they could produce an indigenous car at anaffordable price and his determination to see the

projects — both the Indica and later the Nano —succeed. As he himself said in interviews followingthe launch, he was surprised at the interest thatthe Nano — priced at just R1 lakh — evoked aroundthe world. That the Nano didn’t sell the kind of vol-umes it was expected to must have been disap-pointing for Tata. As must have been the debilitat-ing losses in the telecom piece — an effort toexplore new areas in a liberalised economicregime — or the ambitious $12-billion acquisitionof the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus which hasleft Tata Steel hugely leveraged, an attempt atmaking the group global.

No doubt the Tatas has the financial muscle toforay into new spaces but there was also theappetite for risk; some of the global buys may nothave been well-timed, a fact that Tata has gra-ciously conceded. But there’s no doubt many ofthe buys – the hotels for example – hold outpromise. The spectacular turnaround at the loss-making Jaguar and Land Rover bought for $2.3 bil-lion in March 2008 – critics carped that the Tataswould never be able to sell luxury brands in unfa-miliar markets – n less than three years was proofof the group’s technological and marketing skills.

But it’s a fact that TCS accounts for a tenth of thegroup’s turnover, a higher third of the profits andhalf of the market capitalisation. However, scep-tics who believed the Tatas would never do well inthe consumer space have been stumped by thesuccess of a Titan or even a Westside. The biggestasset that Tata will leave for Cyrus Mistry, ofcourse, is a capable cadre of CEOs. But without its‘ratan’ the Tata Group can never be the same.

India’s Ratan

Copyright © 2012 The Indian Express 3


By Morgen Witzel

When Ratan Tata steps down as leader ofthe Tata Group, it will be a landmarkmoment in the group’s history. Formore than two decades, he has guided the groupthrough a period of unprecedented change, a peri-od that has seen the Tata Group change from beinga highly respected Indian business into an organi-sation that is increasingly engaged with the widerworld. In some ways, the change in the Tata Groupover the last 20 years reflects the changes in theIndian economy.

Ratan Tata took over as leader from the muchrespected and much loved JRD Tata at a veryimportant point. As Sumantra Ghoshal and GitaPiramal pointed out in their book Managing Radi-cal Change, Tata had to some extent become abusiness group depending on its legacy. The Tataname was respected and trusted, but was itadmired? As the Indian economy began its trans-formation towards greater market orientation,new names were beginning to emerge whichseemed to represent the future of Indian business.Tata might have been consigned to its past.

Tata has changed all that. He did much tostrengthen the internal relationships and createnew harmony within the group, but that is in someways the least of his accomplishments. His reallegacy to the group has been twofold: The devel-opment of an international strategy and the cre-ation of the Tata brand.

‘Before 1990’, he once told me, ‘we had a reputa-tion but we did not have a brand.’ The distinction isan important one. Reputation is what other peoplethink about you; brand is the image of yourselfthat you portray to other people. Tata knew thatmanaging that brand was essential not just to the

greater internal coordination and cohesivenessthat the group needed, but to reassert the values—trust, innovation, commitment to community andpeople—that had made Tata great in the firstplace; values that had come dangerously close togetting lost in the twilight years of JRD’s leader-ship.

Establishing the brand meant not just changingwhat Tata does, although there has been a historicshift away from smokestack industries towardsservices such as telecom and consultancy, whichare seen as being more in keeping with the needsof modern India. It also meant telling the Tata sto-ry in new ways, to new stakeholder groups. Anotable example has been Tata’s engagement withthe youth of India, and increasingly in other coun-tries as well. As a result, Tata is now perceived byyoung Indians as a thrusting, innovative, forward-looking company; and this would not have beenthe case 20 years ago.

The real alchemy here is that all of this has beendone without losing sight of fundamental Tata val-ues. Indeed, they underpin the brand and are partof its heart. When I talk about Tata to young Indianstudents, they tell me that the very things theyadmire about Tata are its values, its trustworthi-ness and its belief in people. These are the veryame values that Jamshetji N Tata laid down whenthe group was founded. They are alive today andthey continue to help keep the Tata name strong.

The shift towards an international strategyhas been slower to develop. Not surprisingly,the group proceeded cautiously down thisroute at first. There was a lot to learn aboutinternational markets customers and interna-tional ways of doing business. TCS and, morerecently, Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals, TataSteel and Indian Hotels, have gone further



BUILT TO LAST: BRAND TATA

Copyright © 2012 The Indian Express


down the track towards internationalisation.Tata’s view has always been, however, that Tatacould not remain a purely Indian business. LikeIndia itself, the group had to engage with theoutside world. That strategy is now starting topay dividends. The growth of Tata Motors andTata Steel, to take just two examples, has beenspectacular. And as their business portfolioshave begun to increase, so have their interna-tional reputations.

Ratan has left the Tata Group a great legacy;it is for others to act upon that legacy. Predict-ing the future is always dangerous, but I willmake a prediction anyway. When the next his-tories of the Tata Group are written in 20 or 30years, the name of Ratan Tata will stand along-side those of JN Tata and JRD Tata as one of thegreat figures in the group’s history.

Morgen Witzel is Fellow, Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter Business School.

LIFE STORYBORN ON DECEMBER 28, 1937 Ratan Naval Tata is the adoptive great grandson ofTata Group founder Jamshetji Tata. His fatherNaval Tata was adopted by Sir Ratan Tata from thefamily of a distant relative. Ratan Naval Tata wasthe eldest son of Naval Tata from his first marriageto Soonoo Commisariat. Soonoo and Naval sepa-rated when Ratan N Tata was seven years old.Ratan and his brother were raised by grandmotherLady Navajbai. BEGINS SCHOOLING IN BOMBAY —1940S Ratan Tata began his schooling at South Bombay’sCampion School. Followed by a stint at Bishop Cot-ton in Shimla and finished off back in Bombay atCathedral and John Connon School. GOES TO THE US FOR HIGHER STUDIES— LATE 1950S After finishing school, Ratan Tata went to CornellUniversity in the US to study BS in architecturewith structural engineering. He graduated in 1962and returned a few years later to the United Statesto complete the Advanced Management Programfrom Harvard Business School in 1975. JOINED FAMILY BUSINESS – 1962



After completing his graduate degree in Cornell,Tata worked briefly in Jones and Emmons, anarchitecture firm in Los Angeles. In late 1962, Tatareturned home to join Tata Steel, on the advice ofthen chairman of the group JRD Tata. Initially,Ratan Tata worked on the shop floor of Tata Steel’sJamshedpur plant shovelling limestone and han-dling the blast furnace. BEGAN MANAGERIAL CAREER ATTATA GROUP — 1971 Having served at various positions in differentgroup companies, Ratan Tata’s managerial careerat the Tata Group kicked off when he was appoint-ed the director-in-charge of National Radio andElectronics Company (NELCO) which sold radiosand televisions. TURBULENT TIMES — 1971-1974 In an era of licence-permit raj, Ratan Tata strug-gled to put the NELCO business back on track. Crit-ics said he was out of depth. Barely 2% marketshare and mounting losses slowed the turnaroundof the company. Just when Tata managed to putthings right at NELCO, Emergency was declaredand quickly NELCO was near collapse again. Insuch a backdrop, Ratan Tata joined the board ofdirectors of Tata Sons Ltd in 1974. FRESH START, BUT STRUGGLES CON-TINUE — 1974-81 Ratan Tata’s next assignment at the group was notany easier than NELCO. He took charge of EmpressMills at 1977.

Having been refused a R50 lakh investment toturn around the textile mill followed by Mumbai’stextile mill workers’ strike, Empire Mills floun-dered and finally closed in 1986. FIRST SIGNS OF A FUTURE LEADER —1981-1991 Amidst criticism from several quarters, JRD Tatastepped down as chairman of Tata Industries, thegroup’s second promoter holding company andhanded over the reins to Ratan Tata in 1981. Imme-diately, Ratan Tata got down to work and drew upa group strategic plan in 1983 which emphasisedon venturing into high-technology businesses,

focussing on select markets and products, judi-cious mergers and acquisitions and leveraginggroup synergies. Ratan Tata also promoted sevenhigh-tech businesses under Tata Industries in theeighties — Tata Telecom, Tata Finance, Tata Kel-tron, Hitech Drilling Services, Tata Honeywell, TataElxsi and Plantek. But successes also came withchallenges. Most of Tata Group companies wereheaded by strong and independent CEOs andRatan Tata’s ideas were left in the back room. Badluck continued as well. In 1988, Ratan Tata tookcharge of TELCO in the middle of one of the worstlabour disputes in Tata history. However, this,unlike other challenges was something whereRatan Tata felt he could bring a change rather thanjust fire fight. TAKES OVER THE REINS — 1991 With a host of other contenders for the spot of TataSons Ltd chairman and an unconvincing career yetat the group, Ratan Tata took over from JRD Tata in1991. Detractors included big names in the TataGroup like Russi Mody at Tata Steel, Darbari Seth atTata Chemicals, Ajit Kerkar at Indian Hotels andothers. However, JRD told Tata Group historian RMLala that the decision to choose Ratan Tata was tak-en because JRD felt Ratan would be more like him. INITIAL YEARS AT THE HELM — 1991-2000 The first few years at the top for Ratan Tata weremarked by fire-fighting the group’s satraps.Backed by his loyalists like R K Krishna Kumar, afellow director of Tata Sons, the group slowlybegan to focus on new generation businesses liketelecom, software, retail and cars while selling offunrelated businesses of cosmetics, soaps andcement. Tata also focused on the Tata brand itselfand in 1998 the group companies had a singlegroup logo and the Tata brand belonged to theholding company Tata Sons Ltd.THE HOUSE OF TATA GOES GLOBAL —2000-2012 When Ratan Tata took over in 1991, less than 5% ofthe group’s R14,000 crore revenue came fromoverseas. When he retires on his 75th birthday,



nearly half of the group’s R5,54,00 crore ($100.09billion) revenue comes from overseas. Tata knewfrom the beginning that the group will need globaltechnologies to stay competitive in a post-liber-alised India. The global acquisition spree beganwith Tata Tea’s acquisition of Tetley group in theUK for $430 million. While Indian Hotels boughthotels in the US and group companies kept makingsuccessful strategic acquisitions abroad the block-busters were yet to come. In 2007, Tata Steel

bought Corus Plc for $12.1 billion to be catapultedto the top ten list of global steel makers. The fol-lowing year, Tata Motors became the owner ofJaguar Land Rover for $2.3 billion. While the twobusinesses have gone in opposite directions — JLRturned profitable while Corus became a drag onthe books — the acquisition of the two major glob-al brands well and truly put the house of Tata onthe global map. A legacy which Ratan Tata leavesbehind for Cyrus P Mistry.

T R I B U T E

By J J Irani Former MD, Tata Steel

MR RNT’S character and strength of purpose canbe judged from his own words:

“If you hold a gun to my head, you have twochoices, you either move the gun away or pull thetrigger, because I will not move my head.”

A look at his actions will prove that in a vastmajority of cases, the gun was pulled away,because he has stood firm on his convictions.

Now Mr RNT lays down the reins of the Tataempire exactly on the date he had set for himselfmore than a decade ago, on his turning 75. Not forhim the argument that he is “irreplaceable” (inmany ways he is), and to make sure that he is notlooked upon as the “Ghost Upstairs” in BombayHouse, he is physically moving out. It is his way toensure that Cyrus, his successor, does not have to



live under his shadow. I well remember RNT’s desire, conveyed to us

two decades ago, that we should always carry twonames in our pocket. One, of “a person who cantake over if you are knocked down by a bus later inthe day”, and the other of “a person who would begroomed to take over from you 3-5 years down theroad”.

He is retiring at the peak of his achievements;but I am sure he is proud of the fact that his grouphas achieved a turnover of over $100 billion, Tatanow has a footprint across the globe and has madeseveral big-ticket global acquisitions.

But most of all it is a coherent, well-knit groupof companies bound by the ideals of Tata House –integrity, trust and the desire to give back to thecommunity.

He has made ‘Tata’ into a globally recognisedbrand. I recall a visit to Europe in the early 1990swhere five senior Tata Group executives were pre-sent. Wherever we went, we presented five differ-ently-designed calling cards. He was disturbed bythe lack of uniformity in the group; a brandingexercise was put into motion. Within a year, thenew Tata logo was born. In fact, with the benefit ofhindsight, we did not need an external agency, asmost of the design work was done by RNT himself!All Tata companies have now proudly adopted thatlogo.

It was not always so. In the early days after JRDanointed him as his successor, he had a difficulttime. Even before that, in the 1970s, RNT hadtough nuts to crack, the Empress and other textilemills and NELCO to name but two. But thoseassignments also gave him the experience on whatto “keep and nurture” and what to “drop” in the

years ahead. Also JRD had left behind a ‘federation’ of indi-

vidual satraps who guarded their fiefdoms andwere not disposed to help each other. A ‘group’concept was not popular. Also JRD ran the compa-nies on the strength of his personal charisma. Theright to manage through ownership was not possi-ble when the public sector was supreme, and inmany companies, the Tata shareholding was mini-mal. RNT recognised that the ‘right to manage’came from ownership, and from the start, Tatashave raised their holdings in companies.

RNT also encouraged ‘across the group’ activi-ties, which brought a feeling of ‘togetherness’ andencouraged executives to move from one Tatacompany to another. Group executives now cometogether on common theme programmes andbuild on their experiences.

RNT’s style is not to ‘thump the table’, but to‘softly mandate’ on what he feels should be thepath to follow – and others do follow.

He is a workaholic, and stands by his commit-ments even under physical pain. He once travelledfrom Mumbai to Europe, flat on his back and undermedication (and against medical advice) to keep acommitment for a motor show.

Just like JRD’s first love was aviation, Ratan’sfirst love is automobiles. This, I guess makes TataMotors his first charge. I had always hoped thatTata Steel (where he did a stint in the 1960s) couldbe his second love!

As he rides out of Bombay House, he will simul-taneously ride into Tata trusts, where he willdevote himself to the philantrophic activities ofthe Tatas. Let us wish him a successful and longstint in his chosen field.

***



RATAN TATA is too great a person for me to com-ment on. However, I have a lot of personal regardfor Tata, a man who has given his life to the organi-sation. Armed with humility and empathy, Tata isalways willing to look at problems. From themoment you tell him your problem, it becomes hisown. I have not worked with him much, since bythe time he became TCS boss, I had retired. But Ihad contact with him when I was looking afterTata Elxsi.

People don’t realise that Tata went through thegrind before he took over. It is sometimes easy tothink that if you are a member of the family, youdon’t have to go through the grind. When I joined,JRD Tata and Ratan Tata’s father, Naval Tata, werethere. Ratan Tata was an architect. He did his edu-cation in architecture in Cornell University. I thinkhis first job was with Tisco in Jamshedpur.

TCS started in 1969. In the initial days, apartfrom licence raj, the government was dead againstcomputers. This was a socialist/communist view.The same is true about today’s clamour over FDI inmultibrand retail.

Tata understands all the dimensions of the busi-ness and his biggest contribution was in turningaround Jaguar and Land Rover. That makes methink of Air India, of which JRD was the first chair-man.

JRD and Ratan Tata were two people with differ-ent styles. But were always willing to experiment.Let’s not forget TCS came in JRD’s time. I was shift-ed from Tata Power. PM Agarwala, who was myboss, died after a stroke, so I got stuck. Tata took itforward with Tata Communications and Tata Elxsi.

It was necessary for them to give a free hand totheir executives who ran companies. They didwhat a parent would do. The parent doesn’t inter-fere with the child, but if the child has a problem,he comes and helps. That’s a very different rela-tionship. They were not the ring masters.

I should say that JRD and Ratan Tata were sensi-tive to the companies they set up. Those were thedays when you set up a computer company, butyou couldn’t import a computer. But their com-mitment to the country is total. You don’t runaway from the country.

By Faqir Chand KohliKohli, regarded as the father of the Indian software industry, joined Tata Consultancy Services in 1969 and

charted its future over the next two decades. He was appointed deputy chairman of TCS in 1994.



RATAN TATA is leaving a legacy which is compara-ble to that left behind by some of his predecessors.That is precisely what is expected of him, and hecan hang up his boots, satisfied with his perfor-mance. It is not always that we find corporateleaders like Tata who have weathered stormswhile continuing to contribute immensely to thechallenges of institution-building over twodecades. They become legends. Tata has trans-formed a relatively smaller group that he hadinherited, quietly but with determination into amuch larger and respectable empire in the world.

He took charge of a family-controlled but pro-fessionally-managed group under difficult cir-cumstances. In fact, he was not groomed to stepinto the larger-than-life size shoes of his predeces-sor JRD Tata. The process of building a legacybegan then. He had the challenge of evolving anew growth vision while fighting disruptiveforces. In fact, his success at consolidating his posi-tion organisationally must be viewed as the cradlewhere he learnt the art of building an empire.

The circumstances under which Tata tookcharge of the reins of the group were hostile.While he inherited the empire, the kingdoms wereunder the control of rebellious kings who not didnot approve of him but, in fact, went to the extent

of trying to dethrone him. This is where his faith intrusteeship and determination to win the causecomes out clearly. As a trustee of the wealth of theTatas, he had to take charge and lead from thefront. He did that successfully, and made the insti-tution stronger.

A leader’s ability to inspire comes not only fromthe techno-managerial capabilities that heexhibits, but also the sincerity with which heundertakes the challenges and leads. Tata hasproven time and again that he believes in the fun-damental strengths of the Tata Group. The grouphas always believed in values such as compassionfor all stakeholders. He continued to practice thevalues of the organisation that he was destined tolead. Even at the time of finding a successor, he didnot go ahead and announce a hand-picked succes-sor. He wanted to ensure that the person who wasstepping into the chair that he was going to vacatehad the capabilities to take the organisation tonewer heights. The future had to be in safe hands.

He continued to adhere to the human valuessuch as caring and collaboration across the group.Employees were often paid salary incrementseven when the concerned group company madefinancial losses. The logic being: The factory work-ers did not do anything wrong for the less than

TRIUMPH OF ENTREPRENEURSHIPBy Kavil Ramachandran

Ramachandran is a management expert



adequate performance of the organisation. Thiswas especially so at the worker level. The groupdid not start cutting staff even in the newly-acquired Corus in UK.

The beginning of economic liberalisation in1991 coincided with the arrival of Tata as thefuture leader of the group. That was the watershed, make or break moment for India. The coun-try badly needed entrepreneurial organisationsto emerge out of existing groups to steer thegrowth graph. Given that a substantial majorityof Indian businesses are family controlled andmanaged, the onus was on leaders like Tata tobecome entrepreneurial in terms of thinking andaction. His passion for technology, innovationand enthusiasm to prove to the world the inher-ent potential of the country to be a manufactur-ing destination was proven with the design,development and manufacture of the cheapestbut technologically-advanced car of the century,the Nano. While there may be a number of rea-sons for the less than expected market perfor-mance of Nano, it gave thumbs-up to India’scapabilities beyond IT.

Even in IT, the growth of TCS is a demonstrationof his ability to trust and delegate operations and

strategy to capable executives. He allowed histeam to be entrepreneurial. The group’s growthbeyond its traditional boundaries is an evidence ofthe capabilities of the team that Tata built over aperiod. The group believed in what is now calledportfolio entrepreneurship and grew exponential-ly.

The group has grown multifold over the pasttwo decades, and has become force to reckon withglobally. This is precisely what all long-lastingfamily-controlled businesses have done across theworld in their pursuit to build and perpetuate suc-cessfully.

Tata will only be retiring from his responsibili-ties as the executive head of the group. He willcontinue to be active in several other capacities,including that of leading some of the large Tatatrusts. As chairman of some of them, he will con-tinue to influence the vision and strategies of thegroup. He is only redefining his role and is passingover the baton of leadership to a younger person inwhom he and the group have faith. It is obviousthat a person of his commitment and capabilitywill only be delighted to see the institution that hehas nurtured for two decades continues to grow.That alone will make eternal his legacy.

***



Ratan Tata’s tenure saw the Tata brand growing in stature and gainingglobal respectability. With his unwavering commitment to corporategovernance, he has sustained the Tata tradition of doing responsibleand socially relevant business.ANU AGA,Thermax director and former chairperson

In every transaction, Ratan has shown that powerful leaders conductthemselves with confidence, courtesy, dignity and humility. He is one ofthe finest role models for Indians. Let God give him a long, healthy,happy and prosperous life. Let there be more Ratans so that India can shine like a diamond.NR NARAYANA MURTHY, Infosys Technologies founder-chairman

STARBUCKS COFFEERatan Tata, Tata Sonschairman, and Howard SchultzStarbucks chairman,inaugurated the first store inIndia at a historic building insouthern Mumbai on October19, 2012

MIGHTY STEEL Ratan Tata, Tata Steelchairman, adresses a pressconference announcing theacquisition of Corus by Tata Steel, in Mumbai on January 31, 2007

CARS, COFFEE & CHARISMA



NANO DRIVE Tata Motors chairman RatanTata presents the keys to theowner of first Nano car inMumbai on July 17, 2009

SWACH NANOTECH Ratan Tata unveils Tata SwachNanotech water purifier at Tata Theatre, NCPA onDecember 7, 2009



CHEMICAL TERMSRatan Tata & deputy chairmanCyrus Mistry come to attendthe 73rd Tata Chemicals agm atBirla Matoshri in Mumbai onAugust 22, 2012

FIAT TIES Fiat Chairman Luca Cordero diMontezemolo and Tata Groupchairman Ratan Tata smileprior to the start of a pressconference in Turin on July 22,2008. Tata Motors is open toItaly's Fiat helping to sell theNano model overseas, Tata saidon July 23, 2008



GOOD BYEN Chandrasekaran, TCS MD & CEO, Ratan Tata, Tata Sons chairman, S Ramadurai, TCS vice-chairman, and Cyrus Mistry, Tata Sons deputy chairman,

at the TCS annual general meeting in Mumbai on June 29, 2012

TAJ 100Ratan Tata and Simone Tata at the celebration of 100 years of Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai

on September 16, 2003

Agencies

The days when Mumbai's Parsi communitydominated a city they helped to build mayhave faded, but the rise of Cyrus Mistry tothe helm of the Tata Group reinforces the clout itwields in some of India's biggest conglomerates.

Mistry's selection as chairman-designate ofIndia's biggest corporate house keeps the groupclose to the founding Tata family as he is a mem-ber through the marriage of his sister. The choicealso keeps the business in the hands of the close-knit community which is as old as the city itself.

From shipyards to textile firms, Mumbai's Par-sis, descendants of Persians who first landed inIndia in the ninth century, led the city's commer-cial development from sleepy fishing islands toone of Asia's business capitals.

Big business houses led by the Tata, Godrej andWadia families keep that tradition alive today.

"Tata is a Parsi business, and so it is importantthat someone who grasps the culture of thegroup is at the top," said Zubin Karkaria, a Parsiand chief executive officer and managing direc-tor of international visa administration firm VFSGlobal.

Bombay House, the brick colonial building inthe heart of south Mumbai where Mistry, 43, will

take the reins of the $83 billion Tata empire nextDecember, is the seat of power for a communityParsis say is inseparable from the city's history.

Mistry is the youngest son of constructionmagnate Pallonji Mistry, known as "the world'srichest Parsi" with estimated wealth of $8.8 bil-lion, according to Forbes.

Octogenarian Pallonji and the 73-year-oldRatan Tata are stalwarts of business groups thatdate back more than 140 years, carrying on alegacy of more than 300 years of Parsi-led indus-trial development in India's commercial capital.

Other Parsi industrialits such as Adi Godrej,head of the consumer goods and real estate-focused Godrej Group, and textile and propertybaron Nusli Wadia, ensure their business influ-ence far outstrips their dwindling numbers.

"Parsis really were the pioneers of the Indianindustrial movement and have put a lot into theindustrial development of the country," saidShernaaz Engineer, editor of Jam-e-Jamshed, the179-year-old Parsi newspaper.

Nariman Point, which is losing its stature asthe city's prime business district, is named afterthe Parsi who built it, while many of Mumbai'shospitals and colleges bear the names of Parsimerchants who forged the city's development asa trade hub in the 19th century.

TATA'S CHOICE PRESERVES PARSITRADITION





Source: PTI



The Parsis settled in Mumbai in the 1640swhen the city was under Portuguese con-trol, according to the Bombay Parsi Pun-chayet (BPP), a 330-year-old administrative body.

By the mid 19th-century, Parsi industrialistshad launched trading, printing and engineeringbusinesses and in 1854, founded the city's firstcommercial bank.

"They have really put a lot into the city," saidEngineer. "Mumbai and the Parsis are absolutelyinterlinked."

Surnames like Engineer, or Contractor and theirjob-specific Indian equivalents are commonamong the Parsi community.

Today, BPP administers over 4,000 Parsi-onlyapartments across the city open only to vettedapplicants, runs a Parsi-only blood bank andawards scholarships and other financial support tostudents from the community.

Octogenarian Pallonji and the 73-year-old

Ratan Tata are stalwarts of business groups thatdate back more than 140 years, carrying on a lega-cy of more than 300 years of Parsi-led industrialdevelopment in India's commercial capital.

Other Parsi industrialits such as Adi Godrej,head of the consumer goods and real estate-focused Godrej Group, and textile and propertybaron Nusli Wadia, ensure their business influencefar outstrips their dwindling numbers.

"Parsis really were the pioneers of the Indianindustrial movement and have put a lot into theindustrial development of the country," said Sher-naaz Engineer, editor of Jam-e-Jamshed, the 179-year-old Parsi newspaper.

Nariman Point, which is losing its stature as thecity's prime business district, is named after theParsi who built it, while many of Mumbai's hospi-tals and colleges bear the names of Parsi mer-chants who forged the city's development as atrade hub in the 19th century.

350 YEARS OF HISTORY

***



At the request of the union, I spent my last day

prior to retirement in the Tata Motors’s various

manufacturing facilities at Pune to say farewell

to my shop-floor colleagues. We have been

together in good times and bad and have

gained a closeness based on mutual trust.

Going through the plants and receiving

greetings from so many colleagues is a great

emotional experience. I have been deeply

moved by the sincerity and the spontaneity of

their greetings.

I will always carry memories ofthis day with me through therest of my life

Documents

Express Tata Revised - Zoroastrians.netBy Morgen Witzel W hen Ratan Tata steps down as leader of the Tata Group, it will be a landmark moment in the group’s history. For more than