Tata group chief Ratan Tatas search for a successor could lead him to an outsider,or even an expatriate. The head of the $71-billion Tata group,the largest industrial conglomerate in the county,has hinted at the possibility of a foreigner succeeding him at Bombay House,the headquarters of the group. In terms of who that successor might be,it could be he or she,it could be an internal or an external candidate. It would certainly be easier if that candidate were an Indian national, 71-year old Tata said in an interview to The Wall Street Journal. But now that 65% of our revenues come from overseas,it could also be an expatriate sitting in that position with justification now that we are a company that has global reach and global presence. The groups size expanded after the $12-billion takeover of Corus group and $2.3-billion takeover of Jaguar Land Rover in the UK. Besides,it also acquired smaller companies in South Korea,Indonesia,US and UK. Tata said the group was in the process of formalising a successor to him. We have some outside consultants and a formal search process is on. There are no constraints. We are looking both within the organization and outside. The successor,I would hope,would have integrity and our value systems in the forefront and hopefully would carry on the path that we have tried to set for the companys growth, Tata said. I would hope that there would not be a major disagreement in the way that we have operated. Otherwise,we will have some other disruption in what we do. As Ratan Tata is a bachelor,the only contender from the Tata family is Noel Tata,his half-brother. Noel is the son-in-law of Pallonji Mistry,the largest single shareholder (over 18 per cent) in Tata Sons,the Tata groups holding company. However,corporate observers are not sure whether these connections were a significant factor in his becoming the successor to Ratan Tata. Noel is currently the managing director of Trent Ltd,the retail arm of the group. Will anybody from the Tata group,especially from the top management,make it to the top post? There are two decision-making bodies that define and direct the business endeavours of the Tata group the Group Executive Office and the Group Corporate Centre. Besides chairman Ratan N Tata,the GEO comprises Tata Sons ED R Gopalakrishnan,finance director of Tata Sons Ishaat Hussain,Tata Industries MD Kishor Chaukar and Tata Sons director Arunkumar Gandhi. The GCC comprises chairman Ratan N Tata,Tata Sons vice-chairman NA Soonawala,former Tata Steel MD JJ Irani,RK Krishna Kumar,R Gopalakrishnan,Ishaat Hussain,Kishor Chaukar and Arunkumar Gandhi.
