Moment When JRD Tata Named Ratan Tata His Successor; Was He Always The Chosen One?

He said that JRD Tata, who was battling heart disease and had been admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, conveyed the news to Ratan Tata, asking him to take over leadership of the group

Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, passed away on Wednesday night at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai at the age of 86, leaving behind his legacy to cherish. He took over the helm of the Tata Group, one of India's largest conglomerates, in March 1991, and the story behind him taking over this position is nothing less than fascinating. 

In an interview with Simi Garewal in 1997, Ratan Tata discussed how the transition happened. He said that JRD Tata, who was battling heart disease and had been admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, conveyed the news to Ratan Tata, asking him to take over leadership of the group.

“We were in Jamshedpur together for a function, and I had to go to Stuttgart to negotiate. When I came back, I heard he had a heart problem and he was in Breach Candy Hospital. He was there a week, and I'd see him every day. He was out on a Friday, and the following Monday, I went to see him in the office,” Ratan Tata recalled. 

He added, “He would always start meeting by asking, ‘Well, what's new?' And I said, ‘J, I'd been seeing you every day; there is nothing new since I saw you last.' He said, ‘Well, I have something new that I want to tell you. Sit down. What has happened to me in Jamshedpur has made me think that I need to step down, and I have decided that you should take my place.' After a few days, he took it to the board.” 

Continuing to recount the moment in the boardroom when history was created, he remarked, "I have heard many of my colleagues say that there was a history that day because apart from the fact that he was stepping down from a position that he had held for 40 to 50 years, there was a lot of emotion attached to his giving up this position in favour of someone. But the history and emotion that everyone talks about is not that move.”

“He reminisced through years at that meeting, and I can't reproduce any of that emotionally or otherwise, but that meeting went on like an archival recount of all his days in Tata. Never his own praise but his experiences as he went through. There was history that day, and we all came out very moved,” he added.

However, there is another side to the story as well. Coomi Kapoor, an Indian Express reporter, shared about her interaction with Ratan Tata, where she talked about how it was not an easy path for Rata Tata. He said that he was not even among the names considered Tata’s Heir initially, and JRD Tata only thought him to take over the responsibilities in the last few years of his life. Ratan Tata said that he only became close to JRD 6 years before he decided to leave the company, and after that, JRD Tata appointed him as his successor. 

The reporter added that Ratan Tata realised that one thing that worked in his favour was the name ‘Tata,’ as JRD Tata thought that to hold these companies together, the firm needed someone from the family.