Ratan Tata, former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, died in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday evening. He was 86 years old.
Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran confirmed Tata’s death and described him in a statement as his “friend, mentor and guide”. He did not provide a cause of death.
Tata was admitted this week to Breach Candy Hospital in south Mumbai, the city where he lived. Shortly after his hospitalization, Tata released a statement on Monday saying there was no cause for concern regarding his health and that he was undergoing age-related medical tests.
Tata built his conglomerate into a sprawling collection of nearly 100 companies, including India’s largest automaker, the largest private steel company and a major outsourcing company. The companies employ more than 350,000 people worldwide. In June 2008, Tata bought Jaguar and Land Rover of Ford for $2.3 billion.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Tata as a visionary leader and an extraordinary, compassionate human being.
“He provided stable leadership to one of India’s oldest and most prestigious business companies. At the same time, his contribution went far beyond the boardrooms,” Modi said on the social media platform
“Tata endeared himself to many people through his humility, kindness and unwavering commitment to making our society better,” Modi said, referring to Tata’s philanthropic work.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Tata left behind an extraordinary business and philanthropic legacy and was instrumental in mentoring and developing modern business leadership in India.
“My last meeting with Ratan Tata at Google, we talked about Waymo’s progress and his vision was inspiring to hear,” Pichai said on X.
“He cared deeply about making India better,” he said.
Tata companies include Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power and information technology company Tata Consultancy Services.
Tata pioneered commercial aviation in India by launching an airline in 1932 which later became Air India. The government then took over.
The Tata Group bought state-owned Air India in 2021. It also launched a full-service carrier, Vistara, with Singapore Airlines, but recently merged it with Air India.
In 2009, the company surprised the automotive industry by launch of Tata Nano, a small vehicle with a rear engine costing around 100,000 rupees (then $2,000). Presented as a “people’s car”, it could accommodate up to five adults. Ratan Tata had said it would provide “safe, affordable, all-weather transportation” to millions of middle- and low-income Indian consumers.
However, due to low sales of the small car, the company stopped production in 2018.
Ratan Tata graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. He joined the Tata group in 1961 and succeeded JRD Tata as chairman of Tata Sons after the latter’s retirement in 1991.
In December 2012, Tata retired as chairman of Tata Sons. He briefly served as interim president from October 2016, following the ouster of his successor, Cyrus Mistry. He resumed retirement in 2017 when Chandrasekaran was appointed president.
