RARE Enterprises had a very close connection with the Tata Group. They always believed in the ethos, the principles and the policies. If you have to share anecdotes or perhaps stories about Ratan Tata, what is that first thing that comes to your mind?
Utpal Sheth: Let me first say that Rakesh ji held the Tata Group in the highest possible esteem. He felt so strongly about the Tata Group. And he really believed that this group would never do anything wrong, either at a corporate level or for the minority shareholders or for the country. He really believed that this group has the ethos and the culture of keeping the right people, ensuring that you do business the right way and will create value, which is why he invested so strongly into this Tata Group.
In terms of anecdotes, we have been investors in multiple Tata Group companies. And it is amazing to see that the value system, the principle-based decision making that Mr Ratan Tata always embodied was visible across all of his group companies. As a shareholder, Rakesh ji and Rare have been privileged to be partners in this journey in whatever small way we could and we will always be grateful to the group. But more specifically, I believe that Mr Ratan Tata will forever be missed as a gentleman leader who has been unlike any other business leader that India has ever had.
So, you have to share with us something which you have never shared before or something which late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala told you about Ratan Tata, the Tata Group, which only both of you know.
Utpal Sheth: In one of our interactions, not with Mr Ratan Tata, but with the group, it came across that the Tata Group looks for people who are humble, humane, and hungry and that just left such a phenomenal impression on both Rakesh ji and me of how in one sentence they could capture the spirit that the group was looking for in the people who were key members of the group and it is not just a theory. We have seen the leaders in the group demonstrating these qualities over a long period of time.
