Ratan Tata initiates search for successor

Nifty BSE | NSE 28/05/12 Are Mutual Funds betting on Nifty?

Ratan Naval Tata, 71, is considering hanging up his boots. The chairman of the legendary Tata Group, one of the nation's biggest conglomerates and venerable brands, is in the process of formalising a successor for him, he said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday.

Local and foreign candidates were being looked at to head the group, which includes Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Power among its 27 listed companies

If and when the baton passes, it would not only signal the conclusion of an era of one of India's most respected businesspersons, it would also be the end of a chapter in the history of the Tata Group. A chapter, which saw the group add several feathers to its shining crown.

For Ratan Tata, the winner of several awards and recognition could be credited for a helming a number of success stories - three such events in recent years that put the Tata brand on the global map are Tata Steel's acquisition of Dutch steel major Corus in 2007, Tata Motors taking over UK's Jaguar Land Rover and launching of the people's car this year, the Rs 1-lakh Tata Nano, built on Ratan Tata's professed dream of building a car for the common man.

"We are in the process of formalising a successor to me. We have some outside consultants and a formal search process is on. There are no constraints," Tata, who has steered the group for nearly two decades, said in the interview.

The successor could be from within the group or outside, Tata said, adding he hoped the person would carry on the growth path that had been set. All but one of the group's past chairmen have been Tatas, although at the moment no family candidate has been publicly identified to take over the role.

"It would certainly be easier if that candidate were an Indian national. But now that 65% of our revenues come from overseas, it could also be an expatriate sitting in that position with justification now," Tata said.

- With inputs from Reuters