One of the favorite stories of the automobile internet involves the legendary Indian businessman Ratan Tata and the American automobile brand Ford’s chairman Bill Ford, and their infamous meeting in 1999. The story goes like this. In the epilogue of the last century, Ratan decided to sell Tata Motors' passenger car division to Ford and flew to the Mecca of Ford Motor Company, Detroit. During the meeting, Bill Ford apparently made a condescending remark that Tata Motors lacked the expertise to succeed in the passenger car segment. Ratan Tata, feeling humiliated, decided not to sell the division and instead plotted the resurrection of Tata Motors. Eventually, that humiliation led to the turnaround of the company’s passenger car division to the tune of Tata acquiring Ford's luxury brands, Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR). 

But there is only one little problem. The aforementioned story was authored by an internet wordsmith who didn’t care about the truth. In fact, both Bill Ford and Ratan Tata have clarified that this story is fake and has been created by the internet. The truth is that Ratan Tata never required any extra motivation to break ground and build amazing things that make the country proud; that’s almost his favorite hobby. The only part that is really true about the story is that Tata acquired Ford's luxury brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, in a $2.3 billion deal. The acquisition of JLR not only boosted Tata Motors' global presence but also helped the company become a major player in the luxury car market. As a proud owner of a Tata car myself, I can vouch for the unbelievable transformation the legendary Indian brand has undergone in terms of both its driving experience and high-tech features. 

The transformation of Tata Motors is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the achievements of Ratan Tata. His biggest achievement must be the lifelong love he received from India, his people. 

Ratan became chairman in 1991 when the Tata Group was a collection of loosely connected businesses. Over the next several decades, he restructured the group block by block, focusing on core sectors and divesting non-core businesses—breaking grounds all along. After a decade of restructuring, Tata Group started to take shape as a global force and in 2000, Tata Tea acquired Tetley, making it one of the world's largest tea companies. Tata acquired Corus Steel in 2007, a major European steelmaker, for $12 billion and a year later, Tata established its name as a strong global player by acquiring JLR. 

A Promise is a Promise

Under Ratan's leadership, the group's revenue grew over 40 times, and profit increased over 50 times and yet, he never made it to the list of biggest billionaires in the world! A chronic bachelor, Tata was not in the business of making money or building his portfolio, but improving the lives of his fellow citizens. That’s how he redefined what a true leader is for the country. Let’s take the example of Tata Nano, the 'One Lakh Car.' You probably know how Tata landed on the desire to make an affordable car for ordinary people, randomly watching the sheer struggle of a family of four traveling on a motorcycle. However, when Ratan Tata first spoke of Tata Motors offering a car at Rs. 1 lakh in 2003, there was a considerable level of disbelief.

Six years later, the standard version of the Nano was launched with a dealer price of Rupees One Lakh. The announcement event turned out to be a festival, as he had truly done the unthinkable. During the event's closing, Ratan Tata said, “I just want to say, a promise is a promise.” 

For the people of this country, it’s not the first time. Many of them have seen it before. Rewinding four decades, Iron deficiency was slowly becoming an epidemic in India in the early 1980s, affecting over 60 percent of adolescent girls. On average, around 66 percent of children aged one to five were anemic. In some states, the situation was drastic, with a rate of 93 percent. In 1983, Ratan wanted to address this issue and hence launched Tata Salt, India's first branded iodized salt. Tata Salt shouldered the challenge of addressing iron deficiency-led anemia in India and eventually eradicated it.

One of the latest examples of Ratan Tata's vision of accessibility and innovation in India's retail landscape is the fashion brand Zudio. But Tata Group already owns two sensational clothing brands: Trent and Westside. Then why Zudio? The answer to this question takes us back to the man's commitment to this great nation. The middle class in India hardly does Fashion. Buying new clothes is an expensive stunt, often performed only during celebrations. Ratan wanted to make Fashion available to the common man and hence launched Zudio with a unique selling point—everything available at a three-digit price. Zudio has grown rapidly in India—up from 7 stores in 2016 to 545 stores today.

The Biggest Leadership Lesson

Innovating with 140 crore people in mind is not everyone’s business. It takes resilience, unimaginable strength and empathy. Ratan was the lord of resilience, strength, and empathy. And it showed during one of the darkest days the country has ever seen: The 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008, wherein the terrorists killed 166 people and severely injured more than 300. The epicenter of the incident was the Tata family’s iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The unparalleled resilience and leadership Ratan manifested that day is a textbook for committed business leaders. Ratan was stationed at the Colaba end of the hotel and offered relentless support to rescue those trapped inside. But his commitment never ended there. Ratan Tata invested significant efforts to support the victims and their families. He took a pledge to pay the salaries of the deceased staff members to their families for the rest of their lives.

As Ratan Tata bids farewell, the entire country not only knows but lives in his legacy in one way or another. The loss is unparalleled, and the crater is too giant to fill. 

Pranam.