Hunt for successor of Ratan Tata begins

Mumbai, Aug 5: A hunt for the successor of Ratan Tata, Tata Group chief, has officially begun.

The five-member panel set up to search for an able successor of the man who built the world's cheapest car and took the salt-to-software company global “has commenced its work", announced Tata Sons, the group"s holding company.

Ratan Tata, the head of the 70-billion dollar group who has been at the helm since 1991, is set to step down in Dec 2012, creating a vacancy for the top job.

In its statement, Tata Sons said the successor would be chosen based on his ability to grapple with the complexities of globalised environment.

However, the statement provided no specific information on who are the five members of the committee. The "five wise men", as some of the media reports term them, would include senior leaders in the group.

While Tatas have indicated that the succession is open, there are hearsays in the corporate cirlce that Noel Tata, the recently appointed MD of Tata International and chairman of Tata Investment Corporation, was leading the race.

Among the other names heard in speculations as to who is likely to step into the shoes of Ratan Tata are Arun Sarin, the former boss of Vodafone PLC, and Indra Nooyi, the current CEO of Pepsi.

OneIndia News