Ratan Tata, shy and reticent, an unlikely inheritor to the legendary JRD Tata of the Tata conglomerate, with minimum ego, and maximum commitment has been busy turning the Tata brand to a true blue global reality. A man who had begun with some hiccups, one who had the Chairmanship amidst some controversy, Ratan Tata young and perceived as a 'just-there' head, stunned everybody with some dramatic moves. If you can't be in line, please leave, was his first message to some heads of the Tata group- for nobody, he said, is bigger than the brand. And his first great success was the consolidation and unifying of all those race horses in the Tata stable under one trainer, Tata Sons. JRD could allow the race horses to gallop away to astounding successes and still rein them in, but Ratan saw early the same strategy would not work for him. Thus, with his focus right on globalisation and growth, he has made the Tata expansion unstoppable. With courage and humility. Brought out an Indian car, bought out world businesses. He may still have to deal with a few loose nuts and bolts, but he has the structural prototype of success in place. Facts and figures are there for all to see.
