Section 34
Ratan Naval Tata
Led the Tata Group from 1991 to 2012 and took it global with Tetley, Corus and Jaguar Land Rover. (Tata Sons)
- life
- 1937–2024
- era
- 1991 to 2010
- $2.3 billion
- Price paid for Jaguar Land Rover · 2008
- $13 billion
- Price paid for Corus (about) · 2007
- $165 billion
- Tata Group revenue, year to March 2024 · 2024
The story
Ratan Tata was born in Mumbai on 28 December 1937. He studied architecture at Cornell University and joined the Tata group in 1962, turning down a job offer from IBM.
In 1991 he succeeded J R D Tata as chairman of Tata Sons, the same year India opened its economy. In 1998 the Tata Indica became the first passenger car designed and built in India.
He then bought abroad: Tata Tea acquired Tetley in 2000, Tata Steel bought Corus in 2007 for about $13 billion, and Tata Motors bought Jaguar Land Rover from Ford in 2008 for $2.3 billion. The Nano, priced at 1 lakh rupees, was unveiled in 2008; its production ended in 2018.
He retired in 2012 and returned as interim chairman for a few months in 2016. He died on 9 October 2024, aged 86.
Timeline
- 1962Joins the Tata group.
- 1991Becomes chairman of Tata Sons.
- 1998Tata Indica rolls out.
- 2000Tata Tea acquires Tetley.
- 2007Tata Steel acquires Corus.
- 2008Tata Motors acquires Jaguar Land Rover; Nano unveiled.
- 2012Retires as chairman.