Mumbai, Aug. 4: The cat is finally out of the bag now. On Wednesday, Tata Sons announced that it is looking for a successor to Mr. Ratan Tata, the chairman.
Tata Sons is the holding company for the diversified conglomerate, which has a presence in steel, automobiles, technology, power and retail businesses, amongst others. Mr Tata is also the chairman of several key group companies including Tata Steel, Tata Motors, TCS, Tata Power and Tata Chemicals. Mr. Tata is due to retire in December 2012, when he turns 75. A five member committee has been set up for the search it includes an external member as well.
As of now, no names have been formally identified. The announcement also is very broad, saying that the person could be a group insider or an outside professional, an Indian or a foreigner. However, many expect Mr Noel Tata, Ratan’s half brother, to take over the reins of the group. His role in within the Tata group has been gradually expanded in the past few months. Two other names, who could in the running according to the street buzz are Mr Arun Sarin and Mr Nusli Wadia. Mr Sarin is the former chairman of global telecom giant Vodafone. Mr Wadia heads textile major Bombay Dyeing and is involved in the real estate business. He is also on board of Tata Steel and Tata Motors, the two largest group companies.
The brief statement issued by the group says, “The Committee is in the process of formulating criteria for identifying the most suitable candidate taking into account the global nature and complexity of the Group’s business at the present time.”
Right now, the official position is that the eventual successor could be a suitable person from within the group, or professionals from India or overseas with global experience. One reason for starting the search more than 2 years before Mr. Tata’s retirement is to facilitate a smooth transition.