On the occassion of Mr Ratan Tata passing the baton to the carefully chosen successor, Cyrus Mistry; Zia Mody, Managing Partner of AZB & Partners, who has been closely associated with the Tatas since their first overseas acquisition of NatSteel and many more avenues, shares with Ruchika Shah the main takeaways from Mr Tata's career and how she feels about the veteran retiring. Edited excerpts:
You have been closely associated with the Tatas since NatSteel and later with the acquisition of Corus & subsequently Jaguar Land Rover. What do you think are the main takeaways or business lessons are from Ratan Tata's career?
What Mr Tata has clearly done has been a game changer for India; to act and not only think globally. To really open up India to International deals; to in a way inspire many other companies also to look outward. You can say that the Tata's led the foray in the obvious flurry in activity you saw in the busy years after he took over. I think thats one clear lesson.
The other lesson would be that despite the many ups and downs the group has faced, as he lays down the mantle for Cyrus, Mr Tata has really continued to show that the group values, integrity are here to stay. Altough the group often had to fight difficult battles; the DNA of the group's core value system is something that Ratan Tata has fought very hard to sustain. That is something he leaves as a legacy for Cyrus to take forward.
Ratan Tata gave India Inc a new definition of globalisation in terms of recruiting international talent, and learning international business lessons which can be monitised and made more efficient back home. This is a part of Mr tata's success at the time he was at the helm.
This is the third scheduled retirement for Mr Ratan Tata which shows that he is clearly indispensible for the group. How do you think Tata Sons would be after he steps down?
I am sure Mr Tata has transitioned and chosen his successor carefully. Tata Sons, in the next five years may see different faces, younger faces, faces that Cyrus will have a part in choosing and be instrumental in selecting. Tata Sons has had stalwarts who have the right attitude or the right DNA for the group. Business coupled with the right mindset is one of the main quality people already working there have and I am sure people who come on board will also have the same mindset.
Do you think Mr Mistry will be able to fill his shoes?
According to me, you don't have to fill someone's shoes, but i think Cyrus will certainly be able to steer the group well. Lets not forget that he has been in business for a long time, there is a familiarity with the Tata companies with which Cyrus has been director. The last one year Mr Tata dedicated would have proved immensely useful for daily downloading, in terms of the key issues and strategies of each company. Cyrus has to his advantage many many decades ahead of him. So there is no reason to worry at all.
Mr Tata was 54 when he took over as the chairman and was met with a lot of criticism about being inexperienced. Cyrus Mistry is 44 with most of the company CEOs being almost 20 years his senior. How do you think they are going to receive him.
The advantage of the one year download has been that, Cyrus has already been received well. Ratan had also run companies before he took over as group chairman. There would never be enough time to learn but at the end of the day, its what a man does to prove his worth.
Cyrus is also sufficiently steeped in his own family business to have the tools of the trade. If there was anything missing in the loop, the last one year would have plugged it for sure.
You said that the next five years would see younger faces with Cyrus Mistry bringing in young people into the company. Something like that happened when Mr Ratan Tata had taken over with the unceremonious sacking of Russi Mody, Darbari Seth. Do you sense a a jittery atmosphere after Mistry takes over?
Not at all. I think the transition is smooth. I don't think anyone fears being sacked
There is very little known about Cyrus Mistry in the public domain. Having worked with his company too, can you throw a little light about him as a person?
I havent really interacted with him in the work space in his old company but my impression of him is that he is very down-to-earth, extremely hardworking, and doesn't mind getting into details. He will develop these strategic skills and tough decision making as he continues to grow in this space. When to walk away, when to pay that extra price, when to take a call on which way forward for which group company. These are all calls he will be expected to take everyday. After all it all notches down to the experience under your belt.
What are your sentiments about Mr Tata stepping down.
It is always sad to see an iconic figure step out of India Inc. It needs all the icons it can get. But I am very pleased to know that Mr Tata is going to devote a significant time to charitable work for the trust, specially concentrate on child and health care. So with all the experience and things he has seen, we will finally see some scale in charitable work. There are so many good people in India doing good charitable things, but we never see the impact because of our size. Now that someone like the Tata Trust is going to be pushed by Mr Tata to go into overdrive on these issues, I think he will continue to make a really meaningful impact. I am actually really looking forward to it.
