The Road Ahead For Tatas

Ratan Tata needs to find a replacement – and fast – to quienten the naysayers.

- C.H.Unnikrishnan

Soon after Cyrus Mistry was suddenly and surprisingly replaced as chairman of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata in a letter to around 6,00,000 employees of the Tata Group said he was excited by the opportunity to “maintain stability and continuity of leadership” at India’s largest business conglomerate, while also “looking forward with equal excitement to the finalisation by the selection committee of a world-class leader to be the new chairman of the group.”

Meanwhile, Mistry has kept up pressure on the group and has unequivocally maintained that he would not step down from other group companies. A recent board meeting of Indian Hotels reposed faith in the chairmanship of Mistry in Indian hotels. But as major decisions in the group have to be vetted by the Tata Sons board, the warring factions still have a lot of ground to cover. Mistry, on his part, say insiders, was focusing on profitability and improving the return benchmarks. And Ratan Tata has been focusing on market share and revenues, and – as one insider says – expanding the Tata empire.

‘Faulty’ DoCoMo, ‘Bleeding’ Nano

“Although, the bone of contention of the two warring factions go beyond Tata Docomo deals and the Nano, they seem to be the key trigger for the current tussle. So, unless the warring partners resolve the ‘faulty’ DoCoMo deal and the ‘bleeding’ Nano project, stability will be distant for the group within and from outside, according to insiders.