Ratan Tata gets Swiss Ambassador's award

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Tata group chairman Ratan Tata has been honoured with the Swiss Ambassador's award for 'exceptional leadership' and his contribution to strengthening bilateral ties between India and Switzerland.

"I owe it to my colleagues who made whatever has happened in Tata Group happen," Ratan Tata said after receiving the award here on Sunday night.

Tata said he had followed the business models of his ancestors and whatever he was able to do within the group was mainly because of the exceptionally talented people around him.

"I merely travelled the same journey that my ancestors did and it was, I thought, the right thing at the right moment, whenever it happened," he said.

Tata said the late Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc, was an exceptional leader who, despite not consciously trying to be a leader, made a difference to the lives of millions of people by doing what he believed was right.

Switzerland's Ambassador to India Philippe Welti conferred the award to Tata at a ceremony at the Swiss embassy here.

The first Swiss Ambassador's award, founded in 2010, was conferred on film-maker Yash Chopra for his contribution to strengthening Indo-Swiss people-to-people relations through his movies.

Welti said Tata was honoured with the award for his exceptional leadership and his contribution to strengthening ties between the two countries. He said Tata was not just an Indian but a global business leader.

The ambassador said Ratan Tata had transformed Tata Group into a global conglomerate while retaining its strong roots in the group's traditions and ethics.

Ratan Tata became chairman of Tata Sons in 1991. Welti pointed out that under the chairmanship of Ratan Tata, the group had acquired several international brands like Land Rover, Jaguar, Tetley and Corus.

"Among Switzerland's strongest economic pillars are its outward foreign direct investments in India and elsewhere. India's move in the opposite direction seems to have started with Tata Group in Switzerland. This is one of the reasons for the award," Welti said.