Noel Tata has recently been appointed as the Chairman of Tata Trusts after the death of Ratan Tata.(File)
New Delhi: Late Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata felt his half-brother Noel Tata needed more experience and exposure to handle the tough task as his successor as the head of the flagship investment holding firm and promoter of Tata companies, according to a recently published book.
Noel Tata, who was recently appointed as the chairman of Tata Trusts after the death of Ratan Tata – a group of charities that indirectly controls the USD 165 billion salt-to-software conglomerate – was one of the many candidates interviewed during the search for his successor in March 2011.
Ratan Tata had decided to stay away from the selection committee to find his successor even though many wanted him to be a part of it – a decision he later regretted, according to Ratan Tata A Life – a biography of the late legendary industrialist and philanthropist, written by Thomas Mathew and published by HarperCollins Publishers.
One of the reasons Ratan Tata stayed away from the committee was that there were several candidates from within the Tata Group, and he wanted to give “the contestants the comfort and confidence of knowing that a collective body of equals would recommend one of them based on a unanimous decision, or if not by a majority, not on the chairman’s choice”.
The second reason was more personal as “it was widely believed that his half-brother Noel Tata was the ‘default candidate’ to succeed him” amid pressure from the Parsis in the company and traditionalists in the community as they considered him one of their own.
However, according to the book, for Ratan Tata, only the “talent and values ​​of the individual mattered”, the religion, community or region of the contenders held no significance.
Ratan Tata was also open to foreigners being considered by the selection committee, provided they had the right qualifications. The late chairman emeritus had also made it clear that he should not be seen as steering the selection committee or ‘pushing it in one direction or the other’.
Even in the event of Noel not being selected, Ratan Tata did not want to be seen as ‘anti-Noel’, wrote the author.
“Perhaps, if Noel had the experience of handling difficult assignments, he could have established his credentials more firmly,” the book quotes Ratan Tata as saying.
More importantly, Noel could have had the opportunity to demonstrate ‘courage and enterprise’, which JRD had identified as a prerequisite for being appointed as the chairman of the Tata Group.
Ratan Tata said, “To compete successfully for the top job, Noel should have had ‘more experience than he has had so far.'” “Partly, it is his own decision that he did not get the position.” Citing an interview with ‘The Times’, the book mentions that Ratan Tata had said he ‘rose up through the business’ and also said that even if he had a son, he would have done something so that his son would not automatically become his successor.
Late Cyrus Mistry, who was initially part of the selection committee, was chosen as the successor to Ratan Tata, who retired as chairman of Tata Sons in December 2012.
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