The legacy of late industrialist Ratan Tata is well documented. However, former bureaucrat Thomas Mathew's book 'Ratan Tata: A Life' brings the story of one of the most popular names of India's corporate history together from the very beginning.
Thomas Mathew, former bureaucrat and biographer of Ratan Tata, describes how the late industrialist thought about the future of Tata Group
The legacy of late industrialist Ratan Tata is well documented. However, former bureaucrat Thomas Mathew's book 'Ratan Tata: A Life' brings the story of one of the most popular names of India's corporate history together from the very beginning.
The book acts as a resource for tracking the history of the conglomerate and its former chairperson who shaped it the way it exists today.
As the future leaders of the conglomerate prepare to steer the ship into new directions, Mathew discusses in this interview with Outlook Business about how the billionaire foresaw the future of group and what did he think about the leadership of Noel Tata and Natarajan Chandrasekaran.
Edited Excerpts
Given that you knew Ratan Tata for decades, can you explain how the story of this book started?
Happened by chance. Nothing was planned; nothing was pre-ordained. The initial seeds of a biography were sown during the visit of Mr. Tata to the Rashtrapati Bhavan as the distinguished guest of President Mukherjee in March 2017. During the visit, I had the occasion to spend considerable time with him when he shared snapshots of his life’s fascinating journey.
The more he shared, the more interesting it got. It did not lead to anything except a question about whether the world knew about his initial desire to stay back in the US and spend his life there with his first love, Carolyn Emmons, later Jones. The answer from him was simply, most don’t.
A year later, on a visit to Mumbai, my son and I were invited to his house for dinner. My son, George Thomas, who is in the Indian Foreign Service, was awe struck and thrilled to hear some of the snippets from Mr. Tata about his life. The accounts were fascinating. I just sat listening to his conversation.
I had an irrepressible urge to know more and was equally keen for the world to know more about him and learn from his inspirational life. In jest, I asked him if he had ever thought about writing his autobiography. I asked Ratan, ‘Have you ever considered writing your autobiography?’ He replied, ‘I can’t do it, you may think of it, should you choose to.’ Thus began the incredible journey to capture for future generations the life for one of this great Indian giant and a world icon.
You knew him personally and observed him closely for years. What aspects of his persona stood out for you?
To me, there is nothing that is not great about him. It is not because I love him or have deep affection for him.
But please understand one point. The book is not a commissioned work. Neither did it emanate from an employer-employee relationship. It is in every sense of the term an independent work and qualifies to be one. I received no financial assistance or any form of support from him or the group towards the making of the book except access to documents and hours and hours of interview with him.
Why I’m underscoring this point is because I am not obliged to praise Mr. Tata. I am not beholden to him. I have not even stayed in the Taj Hotel for one day. So the narrative in the book is objective and correct as I see it and my praise for him is simply because he deserves it.
The first was his remarkable resilience and will power. He had a lonely childhood due to his parents’ separation in a conservative India where divorce was unheard of and carried stigma. He was often outclassed in school, taunted and poked fun at. Yet, he overcame these challenges. This is a lesson for children: no matter the challenges, determination and hard work can overcome any obstacle.
The second lesson is to accord higher priority to higher goals as opposed to less enduring and important ones. He pursued architecture in the U.S., excelled in college, but gave up his dreams and returned to India to fulfill what he considered was his bounden duty. This is a lesson for all of us—we should at times keep aside personal preferences for the greater good.
The next was his politeness and empathy. At Nelco, he made it a habit to sit and have tea with workers who were differently abled before going to his chamber to work. When he was forced to close the factory due to rabid trade unionism, it hurt him. He was worried how the workers would buy rations and feed their families.
Coming to politeness, I often told him: “Your politeness is embarrassing. It makes me feel like a much smaller human being.” I had to say it because his humility was unique and extraordinary. For instance, he used to see me to my car after visiting him despite my desperate pleadings to him not to do so, and entreating him to refrain. He would simply have his way, saying: “Why would you stop me from doing what I want to?”
The next lesson we learn from him was the importance he attached to ethics and morality in business. He established that it was not antithetical to growth. This philosophical mooring ran in the family of the Tatas. Nusserwanji Tata, the father of the founder of the group, Jamsetji Tata, had established this standard. The partners of his firm, Nusserwanji and Kaliandas, had such complete trust in his ethical values that they did not deem it necessary to enter into any agreement with Nusserwanji and they always received their due share of the profits.
Jamsetji was no different in his zealous commitment to ethical values. As a devout Parsi and a novitiate, Jamsetji laid extraordinary emphasis on following the overarching edicts of ethical and righteous behaviour laid down by the Zoroastrian religion.
Jamsetji’s ethical approach to business was moulded by the overarching edicts of his religion. Nothing, perhaps, evidenced it more than what happened after the cotton trading firm of Jamsetji was caught in a financial crisis. He had presented his case so “frankly,” that his creditors and the banks, impressed with his “honesty,” “appointed him his own liquidator, with an allowance of £ 20 a month.
He was considered a shy billionaire, and you mentioned he was sometimes dismissive about his role. What aspects of his leadership stood out for you?
Ratan always underplayed his achievements. Even when inducted into the prestigious Automobile Hall of Fame, Michigan, where legends like Henry Ford are honored, he credited Jaguar's turnaround to the employees, saying, “It is all because of their hard work.” He would often say, “I’m just part of the team.”
Praise embarrassed him and he blushed when anybody recounted his enormous achievements.
His leadership was unique—soft-spoken yet decisive. He had a unique ability to inspire. His affable and polite nature motivated people to give their best without being asked. For instance, at Tata Steel, where the workforce once numbered 73,000, a consulting firm recommended reducing it to 35,000–40,000. Employees voluntarily left, seeing it as a sacrifice for the company, driven by loyalty and the extraordinary severance benefits he had built into the package.
Ratan would, however, not countenance unethical behavior. He introduced the Tata Code of Conduct in 1997, prohibiting any unethical practices within the group. He firmly believed that customer trust in the Tata name depended on the group's ethical behavior. When he had the option of not losing mining rights worth ₹1,000 crores, by paying a bribe of ₹4 crore bribe, he refused to budge and virtually reprimanded TISCO MD for even asking him if the money needs to be paid.
His ability to bring about transformative changes in the Tata Group. It stemmed from his values, leadership, and integrity. He inspired loyalty akin to General Patton, with people willing to follow him anywhere. His focus on ethics and empathy, combined with a vision ahead of its time. It made him a leader admired not only for his success but for the values he embodied.
You must have talked with Mr Tata about the future of Tata Group. How did he foresee the transition?
Ratan believed the Tata conglomerate was strong enough to sustain a smooth leadership transition. He was confident in Noel Tata’s capability and equally certain of Chandra’s ability to lead the group of companies.
Chandra is a Tata lifer and the group's philosophy is deeply anchored in him. Though he is not a Tata, the Tata ethos runs in his blood and are deeply imprinted in his DNA. He embodies the group’s values—ethical practices, social values, and the trusteeship concept. There is no difference in the philosophical moorings of Ratan and Chandra. This made the transition seamless. It was perfectly aligned.
Chandra is polite and unassuming. Mistake not, he is doer. He is a digital master. As Ratan told me: “Chandra is the right man for the time because it is a digital world." Just as Ratan emphasized modernization and technological advancement as the driver of the group in the 1990s, Mr. Chandrasekaran today focuses on digital transformation, and that is the perfect fit to serve the group’s current goals.
I guess that the present arrangement is something that he would have wholeheartedly supported. Noel, just like Ratan, are from the same blood line as the founder Jamsetji. Who better than him to head the Tata Trusts. It was Ratan who appointed him as the Vice Chairman of Tata Steel in March 2022.
Noel has also vast experience in the group and has also proven himself to be a great business leader having steered Trent to unrivalled growth. Its market cap grew by around 7300 % in 10 years and the profit by over 7700% for the year ended 2024.
The foundations of the group, laid by Mr. Tata, are virtually timeless. The transition is not about seeking new directions but about building on an already robust base. The Tata Code of Conduct ensures that all organizations under the group act ethically and prioritize societal good over profits.
The Tata Group’s mission remains rooted in giving back to society. This philosophy, combined with seamless leadership transitions and a strong ethical foundation, ensures that the group continues to thrive while staying true to its values of trusteeship, philanthropy, and societal responsibility.