Tata's successor may be an expatriate

Ratan Naval Tata (born December 28, 1937, in Mumbai) is the chairman of India's largest conglomerate - the Tata Group of companies.

In his 18-year tenure as chairman, Tata not only gave the group a new look, he also expanded its wings across the Indian shores.

With operations in more than 85 countries across six continents and its companies exporting products and services to 80 nations, the total revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was $70.8 billion (around Rs 325,334 crore) in 2008-09. They employ around 357,000 people worldwide.

In a candid interview with Wall Street Journal, Tata who will be retiring in three years, said the search for his successor is on, and it could be anyone - internal, an outsider, man or woman, maybe even a foreigner. Even though he will be most comfortable to have an Indian as his successor, since 65 per cent of the group revenue comes from overseas he is not totally against having an expatriate to head the company.

However, he hoped that the successor will have integrity and the Tata 'value systems in the forefront'.

Junking criticism about his acquisition moves, Tata told WSJ that in spite of the huge debts that the group added while acquiring Corus and Jaguar Land Rover, he does not rue the decision. Corus, he said, gave Tata Steel the 'presence and scale' which would have been difficult for it to achieve in India, and JLR gave Tata Motors international brands. Tata termed them as 'strategic and worthwhile acquisitions'.

Talking on recession, Tata told WSJ that to counter the effects of global slowdown, the group undertook a major cost-cutting and consolidation exercise, adding that Tata Motors was able to extinguish its borrowing of $3 billion, which was a mammoth task given the difficult situation.

Terming the Singur fiasco as 'unfortunate', Tata told WSJ that they had gone there to 'industrialise West Bengal'. Tata said while it made sense to be away from Bengal, which has an 'an alien view of industrial development,' they were extremely fortunate to have moved to Gujarat, which has been 'very positive and very supportive'. The Nano factory in Sanand (Gujarat), he said, will be ready in January 2010.

Elaborating on the land acquisition issue, Tata told WSJ, that the government must find acceptable means to 'fairly and justly monetise the farmer for his land in favor of industrialisation', or our dreams to become an industrialised nation will never be fulfilled.

Tata, who will be travelling to the US with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week said that he hoped the Obama administration, like its predecessor, would embrace India as a friend - politically and strategically.

On the business front, he said India Inc was looking forward to work closely with the US.

When asked if he could change one thing about the India business environment, what would it be, Tata told WSJ that Indians are very bad in enforcing policies.