Ratan Tata: How he turned around Tata

Ratan Tata's reign at Tata Sons ends today. Cyrus Mistry will take over as chairman of the conglomerate that makes tea, coffee as well as software, steel, motor cars and everything in between. CNBC-TV18's Menaka Doshi takes a look at the life and times of Ratan Tata.

In March 1991 JRD Tata, an icon of Indian industry stepped down as Tata Group chairman to make way for a 54 year old handsome, tall, over 6 feet, Cornell architecture graduate with the same illustrious surname Tata. Ratan Tata had left India at the age of 15 and returned 10 years later in 1962, to join the Tata Group. Working in the group's ailing textile mills, in the furnaces of Jamshedpur, reviving Nelco, and 29 years later taking over as chairman. Also read: Tata Group outperforms Nifty, Sensex in Ratan Tata's tenure On the occasion Arun Shourie, former telecom minister said, "I remember that 20-25 years ago the Tata's were a collection of fiefdoms. These were very good people but they were powers in their own right. Darbari Seth was a formidable figure and so were Rusi Modi,Nani Pankhiwalia. These were wonderful people but it was not a group. Ratan Tata slowly changed that or rather rapidly changed that nature of the group by bringing in persons of his own age group,” Harish Bhat, (Author, Tata Log) CEO & MD, Tata Global Beverage said, "Undoubtedly Ratan Tata has made the Tata Group far-far more cohesive than it was earlier. That is the powerful identity of a single Tata brand that is uniting the entire group today. That was a fresh identity that he brought in, when he was chairman of the group. That is a business excellence model which links the group together. There are people who link the group together; there is a sense of common identity and common strategy that binds the group today and of course a sense of common purpose, which has bound the group together for several decades now." Those who know him describe him as a pioneer, a visionary and a leader passionate about technology. Ratan Tata proved that when he introduced the first 'made by India' car - the Indica and 11 years later the people's car, the 1 lakh rupee Nano. Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor, Autocar says,"I think Ratan Tata is an absolute visionary. We have seen that with Indica, no one thought that could be done and it was done. Again with the Nano, it was not a success but as a product it was done. Perhaps the execution is where is not been upto level, it has not fulfilled the vision completely. I think perhaps that is one area which Ratan Tata must be disappointed." However, the fear of failure has never stopped Ratan Tata from giving his best. In 2007 in an interview to CNBC-TV18 he had said, "I'm the one who took the big risks; you have to have a belief and see it to the end." Despite the Nano's lack of success, the mega acquisitions that will take time to fully pay off- Dilip Pendse Tata Finance fraud, the Niira Radia tape controversy - Ratan Tata's 21 years as chairman have helped grow the group to USD 100 billion in revenue, 60% of which come from overseas. In the 2007 interview Ratan Tata, outgoing chairman, Tata Group had also said, "I am often misunderstood in our companies for being too critical but it is because I want to hold my head high and say we are world-class." That mission will continue as Ratan Tata leaves Bombay House to head the key charities that control Tata Sons, the group's holding company. Figuratively and literally, he's just around the corner.