Ratan Tata

Ratan Naval Tata was born in Mumbai, (earlier Bombay), during the British Raj, into a Parsi family, on 28 December 1937. He was the son of Naval Tata (who was born in Surat and later adopted into the Tata family) and Soonoo Tata (the niece of Tata group founder Jamsetji Tata). Tata's biological grandfather, Hormusji Tata, was a member of the Tata family by blood. In 1948, when Tata was 10, his parents separated, and he was subsequently raised and adopted by Navajbai Tata, his grandmother and the widow of Ratanji Tata. He had a younger brother, Jimmy Tata, and a half-brother, Noel Tata, from Naval Tata's second marriage to his stepmother Simone Tata, and two half-sisters, Shireen and Deanna Jeejebhoy, from his mother's second marriage.

Tata studied at the Campion School, Mumbai, until 8th grade. He then continued his studies at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai and the Riverdale Country School in New York City, from which he graduated in 1955. After high school, Tata enrolled in Cornell University, from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1962. While at Cornell, Tata became a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. In 1975, Tata enrolled in the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. In 2008, Tata gifted Cornell $50 million, becoming the largest international donor in the university's history. Tata also donated $50 million to Harvard University, to establish an executive center, which is now called Tata Hall, that supports over 9,000 executive education students each year.

Early years

After graduating from Cornell, Tata worked at the architectural firm Jones & Emmons in Los Angeles, until his return to India in late 1962.

Later years

In the 1970s, Ratan Tata was given a managerial position in the Tata group. He achieved initial success by turning the subsidiary National Radio and Electronics (NELCO) around, only to see it collapse during an economic slowdown. In 1991, JRD Tata stepped down as chairman of Tata Sons, naming his successor. Initially, Tata faced stiff resistance from the heads of various subsidiaries, who had a large amount of operational freedom under the senior Tata's tenure. In response, Tata implemented a number of policies designed to consolidate power, including the implementation of a retirement age, having subsidiaries report directly to the group office, and requiring subsidiaries to contribute their profit to building the Tata group brand. Tata prioritized innovation and delegated many responsibilities to younger talent. Under his leadership, overlapping operations between subsidiaries were streamlined into company-wide operations, with the group exiting unrelated businesses to take on globalization.

During the 21 years Tata led the Tata Group, revenue grew over 40 times, and profit over 50 times. When he took over the company, sales overwhelmingly comprised commodity sales, but at the end of his tenure, the majority of sales came from brands. He had Tata Tea acquire Tetley, Tata Motors acquire Jaguar Land Rover, and Tata Steel acquire Corus. These acquisitions repositioned Tata from a largely India-centric group into a global business, with over 65% of revenues coming from operations and sales internationally.

He also conceptualized and spearheaded the development of the Tata Nano car after the grand success of the Diesel Tata Indica, which helped put cars at a price-point within reach of the average Indian consumer. Tata Motors has since rolled out the first batch of Tigor Electric Vehicles from its Sanand Plant in Gujarat, which Tata has described as "fast-forward India's electric dream."

Upon turning 75, Ratan Tata resigned his executive powers in the Tata group on 28 December 2012. An ensuing leadership crisis over his succession drew intense media scrutiny. The board of directors of the company appointed his successor, Cyrus Mistry, a relative of Tata and the son of Pallonji Mistry of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which was the largest individual shareholder of the Tata group. On 24 October 2016, Cyrus Mistry was removed as chairman of Tata Sons, and Ratan Tata was made interim chairman. A selection committee, which included Tata as a member, was formed to find a successor. On 12 January 2017, Natarajan Chandrasekaran was named as the chairman of Tata Sons, a role he assumed in February 2017. In February 2017, Mistry was removed as a director for Tata Sons. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal later found in December 2019 that the removal of Cyrus Mistry as the chairman of Tata Sons was illegal, and ordered that he be reinstated. On appeal, India's Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of Cyrus Mistry.

Tata had also invested in multiple companies. He had invested in Snapdeal, – one of India's leading e-commerce websites at that time. In January 2016, he invested in Teabox, an online premium Indian Tea seller, and CashKaro.com, a discount coupons and cash-back website. He had made small investments in both early and late-stage companies in India, such as INR 0.95 Cr in Ola Cabs. In April 2015, it was reported that Tata had acquired a stake in the Chinese smartphone startup Xiaomi. In 2016, he invested in Nestaway, an online real-estate portal that later acquired Zenify to start the online real-estate and pet-care portal, Dogspot. Tata also launched a companionship startup for senior citizens named Goodfellows to encourage intergenerational friendships.

Tata never married and had no children. In 2011, he stated, "I came close to getting married four times and each time I backed off in fear or for one reason or another."

Tata was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in critical condition and was under intensive care. He died there at 23:30 IST on 9 October 2024, at the age of 86 due to age-related issues. Following his death, the Government of Maharashtra and the Government of Jharkhand announced a day of mourning.

On 10 October, Tata was given a state funeral. His last rites were conducted at the Parsi crematorium at Worli. He was accorded with military and 21-gun salute during his final rites. The Mumbai Police delivered a ceremonial guard of honour and his body was wrapped in the Indian flag. Upon his death, Tata donated ₹10,000 crore (equivalent to ₹100 billion or US$1.1 billion in 2026) through his will which included his mentee Shantanu Naidu.

Tata was a supporter of education, medicine and rural development, and considered a leading philanthropist in India. Ratan Tata was the highest international donor to the Cornell University.

1984 Anti-Sikh Pogrom victims

In the aftermath of the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, Ratan Tata extended his support to affected Sikh survivors by donating trucks through Tata Motors. This enabled Sikh truck drivers who had lost their vehicles during the violence to regain their livelihoods. His charitable donation enabled many Sikh victims to rebuild their lives and businesses. Following this act, Sikh drivers in Punjab and other parts of India continue to remain loyal customers of Tata trucks.

Tata Innovation Center at Cornell Tech

The Tata Innovation Center at Cornell Tech is named after Ratan Tata, and mixes academics and industry in a building on the Roosevelt Island campus. The seven-floor structure is meant primarily as a business incubator for students, faculty, and staff, with 70% of the building being commercially leased and 30% devoted to academic space. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is a tenant in the space.