It has been 154 years since the famous TATA GROUP was founded in the year 1968. Over these years, the group has diversified into various fields- steel, IT, infrastructure, auto, consumer and retail, financial services, aerospace, defence, tourism and travel, telecom and media, and trading and investment. And in its 154 years of history, only seven people have had the privilege to head the group in different periods.
Here is the list of people who have headed the Tata Group:
1 Jamsetji Tata (1868-1904)- Born on 3rd March 1839 in Navsari, he was the one who founded the Tata Group in 1868 as a textile mill in central India, at the age of 29. It was his vision which inspired the steel and power industries in India. He also set the foundation of technical education and helped the country leapfrog into the ranks of industrialized nations. From 1880 to his death in 1904, he was consumed by what has to be the three great ideas of his life: setting up a steel company, generating hydroelectric power, and creating a world-class educational institution that would tutor Indians in the sciences.
2 Dorabji Tata (1904-1932)- By setting up Tata Steel and Tata Power, the elder son of Jamsetji Tata was instrumental in transforming his father’s grand vision into reality. He also created Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, which is responsible for building the Tata tradition of philanthropy. He was the one who established the Tata Group an Industrial giant. Born on 27th August 1859, when his father was 20 years old. His commitment to his father’s vision and values was so strong that he staked his personal fortune to save the steel venture when in 1924, it slipped into trouble. His business sense and audacity had seen the company undertaking a five-fold expansion programme in the post-World War period.
3 Nowroji Saklatwala (1932-1938)- He was a trusted lieutenant to Sir Dorabji Tata, and was passionate about labour welfare and sports. He was born on 10th September 1875 and belonged to a family that distinguished itself in industrial life, not only in India but also overseas. He was related to Sir Jamsetji Tata through his mother, he started out as a Tata employee as an apprentice in one of the mills on a pay of Rs 50 a month in 1889. However, his grasp of the work, his application and his understanding of industry dynamics impressed his seniors to such an extent that within a few years they asked him to helm the mills’ division. In 1917 he was made the Chairman of the Bombay Millowners’ Association. He was the man who put the group before himself, and who was not afraid to speak his mind or accept responsibilities. It did not come as a surprise when he was chosen to helm the Tata Group after the death of Sir Dorabji.
4 JRD Tata (1938-1991)- He was the longest-serving chairman of the Tata Group. He pioneered civil aviation in the subcontinent in 1932 when he launched Tata airlines, which was only one of many path-breaking achievements of JRD, who guided the destiny of Tata Group for more than half a century. He was born in Paris in 1904, to RD Tata, a business partner and relative of Jamsetji Tata, and his French wife Sooni. JRD came to represent an exalted idea of Indianness: progressive, benevolent, ethical and compassionate. He was known to commoners and Kings. What many do not know is that Kalpana Chawla, an Indian-born astronaut, cited JRD and his pioneering airmail flights as her inspiration for taking up aeronautics.
5 Ratan Tata (1991-2012)-He is Chairman Emeritus of the Tata Group, and guided the group into a new age, and he has done it in his own distinctive style. Born to Naval and Soonoo Tata on 28th December 1937, he and his younger brother, Jimmy, were brought up by their grandmother in Bombay. He joined the Tata Group as an assistant in Tata Industries in 1962. Later in that year, he spent six months training at the Jamshedpur plant of Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (Telco), now called Tata Motors. In March 1991, it is likely an understatement to say that Ratan Tata, who took as Chairman, was stepping into the big shoes of JRD Tata. For more than 30 years later, it can be argued without favour or prejudice that he managed to change the Tata Group for the better, in a more substantial manner than any of the luminaries under whose care the organization evolved since its inception in 1868.
In 1974, he was made director of Tata Sons. Six years later, in 1981, he was appointed as Chairman of Tata Industries; began the process of transforming it into a promoter of the high technology business. Then during 1986-1989, he served as Chairman of Air India, the national career, and later, he took over from JRD Tata as Chairman of Tata Sons and Chairman of the Tata Trusts in March 1991. From 1991 to 2012, he took key decisions such as restructuring of Tata group, high profile acquisitions, among them Tetley, Corus, Jaguar Land Rover, Brunner Mond, General Chemical Industrial products, and Daewoo, and launching The Tata Nano etc. He again took over as Chairman for a brief period during 2016-2017.
6 Cyrus Mistry (2012-2016)- He was the son of Pallonji Mistry, the owner of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, and the biggest stakeholder in the Tata Group. He was the second person outside the Tata family to head the group and was able to hold the position for just 4 years, one of the shortest tenures for the Tata Group head. He was ousted as Tata Sons Chairman on 24th October 2016 and was also removed as a director on the board of the holding company. Sadly, Cyrus Mistry died in a road accident on 4th September 2022, after his car rammed into a divider on a bridge in the Palghar district of Maharashtra.
7 N Chandrasekaran ( 2017-present)-His appointment as Chairman followed a 30-year business career at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which he joined from university. He rose through the ranks at TCS to become CEO and Managing Director of the leading global IT solutions and consulting firm. He joined the board of Tata Sons in October 2016 and was appointed Chairman in January 2017. He also chairs the boards of several group operating companies, including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Global Beverages, Indian Hotels Company, and TCS.
Waiting for your views on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
31st October 2022.