He is a scion of the Tata family, great-grandson of Jamshedji Tata, and the founder of Tata Group. Ratan has joined the Tata Group in 1961 and apparent successor. During his 21 years in Tata’s Group revenues grew over 40 times, and profit over 50 times. Ratan was born in 1937. Actually, Ratan is not a descendant of the Tata family. He was adopted from an orphanage by his grandmother Navajbai Tata. His father and mother both were separated in 1948 when Ratan Tata was just ten years and his younger brother Jimmy was seven. Both were looked after and raised by the grandmother. Also, Ratan has a step-brother too. He is the first son of the Tata family. Ratan Tata studied in Mumbai and Shimla, in Cathedral and John Connon School and Bishop Cotton School respectively. He completed his graduation from Riverdale Country School in 1955 as well as he also completed a B. Arch degree in architecture from Cornell University.

Ratan N. Tata returned to India and turned down an occupation at IBM on JRD Tata’s recommendation and joined the Tata Group in 1962. He was selected as the Director of National Radio and Electronics in 1971. Ratan Tata has worked in various organizations in India and abroad. He is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry as well as he is also a member of the International Investment of Council. Ratan Tatas was a successful bid for Corus, an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminium producer, which was acquired for an estimated 6.7 billion by Tata Sons. Ratan Tata retired on 28 December 2012 from Tata Group.

Here are some inspirational quotes by Ratan Tata which will for sure inspire you:

“I don’t believe in taking the right decisions. I take decisions and then make them right.”

“Business needs to go beyond the interest of their companies to the communities they serve.”

“People still believe what they read is necessarily the truth.”

“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together.”

“I have been constantly telling people to encourage people, to question the unquestioned and not to be ashamed to bring up new ideas, new processes to get things done.”

“I’ve often felt that the Indian Tiger has not been unleashed.”

“Ups and downs in life are very important to keep us going because a straight line even in an ECG means we are not alive.”

“If it stands the test of public scrutiny, do it… If it doesn’t stand the test of public scrutiny then don’t do it.”

“Power and wealth are not two of my main stakes.”

“None can destroy iron, but its own rust can! Likewise, none can destroy a person, but its own mindset can!”

“Apart from values and ethics which I have tried to live by, the legacy I would like to leave behind is a very simple one – that I have always stood up for what I consider to be the right thing, and I have tried to be as fair and equitable as I could be.”

“Don’t be serious, enjoy life as it comes.”

“I admire people who are very successful. But if that success has been achieved through too much ruthlessness, then I may admire that person, but I can’t respect him.”

“I have always been very confident and very upbeat about the future potential of India. I think it is a great country with great potential.”

“There are many things that, if I have to relive, maybe I will do it another way. But I would not like to look back and think what I have not been able to.”