Ratan Tata’s First Job Offer (Image Source: Twitter)
Ratan Tata, Tata Sons‘ chairman emeritus and a notable philanthropist, died on October 9th at the age of 86. He died in Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital after being admitted in a critical condition.
Ratan Tata, a highly renowned figure in Indian industry, was instrumental in growing the Tata Group and making significant contributions to the nation through his philanthropic endeavors.
Tata’s education began at Campion School and continued to Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai, where he spent the final three years of his studies. Following graduation, he studied architecture and structural engineering at Cornell University in the United States from 1955 to 1962.
During his time in the United States, Tata traveled extensively and developed a passion for California’s West Coast lifestyle, pondering relocating to Los Angeles. However, his plans changed when his grandmother, Lady Navajbai, became unwell, compelling his return to India.
When Tata returned to India, he did not immediately join the Tata Group; instead, he got a job offer from IBM. This decision disappointed JRD Tata, who expected him to work for Tata Industries.
“He called me one day and he said you can’t be here in India and working for IBM. I was in the IBM office and I remember he asked me for a resume, which I didn’t have. The office had electric typewriters so I sat one evening and typed out a resume on their typewriter and gave it to him”, Ratan Tata recalled.
He was offered a career with Tata Industries in 1962 and spent six months training at Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company’s Jamshedpur facility (now Tata Motors). The next year, he joined Tata Iron and Steel Company (now Tata Steel) for a training program in Jamshedpur.
In 1969, Tata served as the Tata Group’s resident representative in Australia before returning to India in 1970 to join Tata Consultancy Services. The subsequent year, he became director-in-charge of National Radio and Electronics (Nelco) and, in 1974, was appointed as a director on the board of Tata Sons.
